The (New?) Coolest Kid in School
by Memory Rise
Summary: When the new girl and her weapon come to town, Soul is no longer the only cool kid. Though they fall deeply in love with each other, a little rat with intentions of ruining this new girls life just has to go and screw it up by making Soul think that she's only using him. Can the young couple make it through? Or will this rat get the best of them both?
1. Chapter 1

"Ugh, why did you make me come to this stupid school?" I say to my partner, Mem. She rolls her eyes. "Because you need to get stronger in order to beat all those kishins you're always going after!" she responds, snapping her book shut. "Plus, we can't go on for much longer like this. The DWMA is our only chance at finally mastering soul resonance"

She walked over to the mini fridge that comes with our dorm room. Grabbing two water bottles, she tosses one to me and opened the other. Taking a sip, she checks her watch. "Hey, get off your lazy butt or we're gonna be late!" She grabs our bags and opens the door. I groan and reluctantly take my bag.

We arrive at the academy and the other students are just filing in. nobody seems to notice our presence. "Hey, do you think we should check with Lord Death to make sure he knows we're here?" I ask Mem. She nods.

The second we walk in the door she screams. I slap my hand over her mouth. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE US SEEM UNCOOL! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!" I yell at her. I notice a few kids staring at us. I ignore them.

She blushes and point to a zombie talking to a few students across the hall. Oh, did I forget to mention she's terrified of zombies? I'm about to reassure her that if the rest of the students aren't freaked out, she shouldn't be when a kid with spikey blue hair walks up to us.

"Hiya there! In case you haven't noticed, I'm the great Black Star! I happened to notice that you seem new and I just wanted to grant you the pleasure of me being your first new friend here! Does that sound great? Of course it sounds great! Who wouldn't want to be my friend? I'm the great assassin BLACK STAR! YAHOOO!" He practically screams at us. This kid's ego is way to big.

I notice a girl with black hair standing behind him. She notices me looking at her and smiles. "Sorry about him." She says to us as he rambles on about his own greatness. "I'm Tsubaki. You're new here, I assume?" she waves.

"I'm Ginger and this is Mem." Mem waves. "Can you show us to Lord Deaths office or whatever?" I ask her. She seems nice enough. They're probably partners.

"Oh, you mean the Death room? Of course!" She leads us into this strange room that seems to go on forever and has these red arches. We get to a platform with a body mirror on it and she breathes on the glass. I see her write in the numbers "42-42-564" and step back. Then I see Lord Death appear in the mirror.

"Weapon Tsubaki and meister Black Star reporting with some new students, Lord Death." She tells him. "Hmm, You must be Ginger McAllister and Memory Rise, I presume?" He says in a funny voice. Tsubaki drags Black Star out and waves goodbye to us. "Good luck!" She whispers to us.

"Umm, Yeah! That's us!" Mem says nervously. "But you can call me Mem!"

"Ah, Mem. That sounds more fitting. So which one of you is weapon and meister?" he asks us. We look at each other. "Uh, I would be the meister, sir." I say, waving. "And I'm her weapon!" Mem adds.

"What kind?" he asks. Gosh, he has a lot of questions. "A bow and arrow, sir." She says. I notice her fiddling with her shirt. _Stay cool, Mem. We'll be fine. _I send her a message and hope she gets it. I know she won't, but it's worth a try.

He asks us a few more questions and then calls in someone named Maka. A few minutes later, a flat chested girl with light brown hair and green eyes comes into the death room. I know, I know. It's bad to judge a girl by her chest, but she's even flatter than Mem. And that's saying something; cause Mem's flat as a pancake.

"Scythe meister Maka reporting, sir!" she says with a salute. Should I have saluted? Crap, I so should have saluted! What if I forget to salute the next time I talk to Lord Death? I'll be dead for sure!

_ Keep your cool, Ginge! _ I tell myself. I let out a deep breath and refocus. Her and Mem are talking. They seem to have a lot in common. I join in.

"Yeah, My weapon is Soul Eater. He's kind of an idiot, but he's given his life for me before." Maka is saying. Mem nods. "Wow. That's so sweet of him. Hmm, I'm not sure if I would do that for Ginger…" She says. I nudge her with my elbow. Maka laughs and leads us outside.

After showing us around, we walk into a classroom. It's Kind of like the kind of college classrooms you see in movies, with a chalkboard down in the front and big risers that stretch across the room. I notice the teacher. He has stiches on his clothes and face and a giant screw through his head. He is currently dissecting what looks like a mouse. I throw up in my mouth a little.

"You're late." He says to Maka. He turns around in his chair and rolls it over to us. "Sorry, Professor Stein! Lord Death wanted me to show around the new students." She says, gesturing to us. We wave at him. eHeHHpdhfhfhg;hekgjhe;ghgHHeHe looks us up and down. "Well, you to look like you'd be fun to dissect, but sadly, I cannot experiment on students, so it will have to wait." He says. I take a big step away from him. "Go to your seats and I will proceed." He says, shooing us away. We follow Maka to seats in the middle row, where Tsubaki, Black Star, and a guy I haven't met yet are sitting. I walk in first, so I end up sitting next to him.

"I'm Soul. Who are you?" he says in a surprisingly deep voice. "Oh, you must be Maka's weapon." Mem says to him. He nods. "She told us about you." She adds.

"I'm Ginger, and this is my weapon, Mem." I say to him. "Cool." He replies, putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt right as I put my hands in mine. Weird.

After I'm finished trying not to throw up during Stein's lesson, we walk out of the classroom and down the hall to a big message board with a bunch of bookmarks on it.

"What's all of this?" I ask. Some of the bookmarks have stamps on them, while others have little white signs or pink marks. "These are all the assignments for the students. Lord Death assigns them to us and the red marks mean they've been completed." Maka explains. Then I see a guy with black hair with three white stripes on one side walk up to our little group along with two girls, one taller and checking her nails and the other looking a lot ditsier.

"Oh, hey Kid!" Tsubaki says to him. I look questioningly at Maka and Soul. "That's Death The Kid, he's Lord Death's son." Soul explains.

"Lord Death has a son?" Mem asks. "Yeah, and those two girls are his weapons, Liz and Patty. They're sisters." Maka tells us. "Oh," Mem and I say together.

"And you would be?" Death The Kid asks us. Liz and Patty are talking to each other and don't seem to know we're here. "I'm Ginger," I say, taking a hand out of my pocket to wave. "And I'm Memory! But you can call me Mem!" She says to him. "Are you really the Grim Reaper's son?" She asks him, her eyes getting wide. He nods.

"That is so… AWESOME!" She says excitedly, jumping up and down. I put my hand on her shoulder to calm her down. She stops and blushes. "Sorry…" she looks down at her feet.

"It's fine. You can call me Kid if you like." He says to us. "I'm Liz. This is Patty," Liz says, pointing to Patty, who waves way to happily. "Nice to meet you." I say. "Is there anyone else we should meet?" Mem asks sarcastically.

"Well, there is-" Maka starts, but Soul cuts her off. "Nope. I think you're good!" he nudges Maka with his foot.

"So what kinds of assignments are there?" I ask, looking at the board. "Well, mostly to battle kishins or witches and stuff like that." Maka says. I notice that Tsubaki, Black Star, Kid, Liz and Patty have mysteriously disappeared. I mentally shrug.

"Sounds like something Ginger would want to do. But why do they have you do that kind of stuff?" Mem says to them.

"Oh, right. You probably don't know this stuff." Soul says. "Any meister and weapon that captures ninety-nine kishins souls and one witch soul becomes a death scythe, like Maka's dad. If you mess up, all the souls will be taken away and you'll have to start all over." He cringes. I get the feeling he learned that the hard way.

But me? I'll get Mem to be a Death Scythe by the end of the week! This is gonna be a piece of cake!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey guys! Hope you like this new chappy! I wrote it as soon as I got that first review! I'm going to give a shout out to my very first reviewer, kingdom heartsevanscencefood! Thank you guys so much for all the support!**

**Ginger: Yeah, it's so totally cool!**

**Soul: Hey, I was gonna say that!**

**Ginger: Oh, well I already did, so ha! I'm cooler than you!**

**Soul: Yeah right, I'm the coolest kid at the DWMA, and don't you forget it!**

**Ginger: What ever helps you sleep at night, Soul.**

**Soul: Never mind! Hey, people, just read the story now, will ya?**

When we get to the apartment, I fall into my pillow and scream. This is NOT as easy as it looks. I thought it would be a piece of cake, but it turned out to be a piece of hot, steaming hell! I regain my calmness and walk into the kitchen to find Mem cooking what looks like penne. Which happens to be my favorite, but right now I'm cranky.

"Hey, could you hurry it up with those noodles? And grate some Parmesan while you're at it." I say, turning on the TV. Of course, there's nothing on. The phone rings.

"Can you get it, Ginger? I'm cooking right now!" Mem calls to me. I sigh and pick up the phone.

"Hello? Who's this?" I say into the receiver. "Hey, is this Ginger? It's Maka!" She says. "Oh, hey Maka! What's up?" I ask her.

"Lord Death called Soul and I into the death room today. He said he wanted us to help you guys get started on collecting souls since you didn't do so well earlier. Are you guys all right?" She explains. I push the memory out of my head. "Yeah, we're cool. So what does he want us to do?" I ask her.

"Well, he gave us a simple assignment. You guys will be doing most of the fighting, and we'll give you some pointers and stuff. Sound okay?" I hear Souls voice in the background. "Shut up, I'm on the phone!" Maka calls to him. I snort.

"So can you meet us at 10:00 tomorrow?" she says into the receiver after Soul stops yelling. "Yeah. Where should we meet?" I ask. She gives me the directions and I write them down on a sheet of paper with a highlighter.

I hang up and tell Mem what Maka told me. "Will you try not to screw it up this time?" she says after memorizing the address. "Hey, You're the one who transformed late! Why are you blaming this on me?" I shoot back at her. "Ugh, never mind." She says, dumping the noodles into the strainer. After we eat, I head upstairs and change into my pajamas.

After a good nights sleep, Mem and I head out to where we promised to meet Maka and Soul. When we get there, they're waiting for us. Soul is crouched on the ground and Maka is yelling at him for something. By the time we're close enough to understand it, she has on an angelic smile, though.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she asks us. "Meh, tired as hell but other than that, we're doing pretty good." I reply. She waves at us and smiles. Soul isn't saying anything. She nudges him in the thigh with her foot.

"Oh, hey." He says when he notices we're here. I smile at him. He smiles back for only a second. I know he did, though.

"Well, we should probably get going, then!" Maka says, waving us on. "Yeah, that would be a good idea." Mem says, following her and dragging me along.

We get there and it's almost lunchtime. "I'm hungry. Couldn't we stop for something to eat first?" Mem says, clutching her stomach. "No. The kishins is on the move, if we stop for too long she could get away." Maka says.

"Whoa, the kishin is a girl?" I ask, surprised. Not a lot of kishins are girls. Most are guys who need a life. "Yeah." Maka starts. "She goes by the name Ella. She lures men into her home and steals their souls. She doesn't usually steal female souls, though, so you guys shouldn't get your souls eaten. This means she may not fight as hard, that's why the assignment had to go to a team of girls." She hops off the roof with Soul right behind her. He seemed quiet. I hope he's okay.

I see a lady at the end of the street. Maka closes her eyes. "Its her." She says, hiding in a nearby bush along with Soul.

"Okay, Mem. Transform, now!" I tell her. She nods. "Right!" she turns into a bow and arrow. I grab her from midair and aim my first arrow. The smooth cool wood feels so familiar in my hands.

I see my target start to move closer. I release the arrow from the shaft as she steps into the light, but she dodges. "Well hello, little girl." She says with a grin. "That wasn't a very nice greeting, now was it?" she shoots a beam at me from her fingertips. It just grazes my shin as I jump out of the way, cutting through my jeans. I have to be more careful.

"I'm not one to make a first impression, ya know?" I reply, aiming another arrow. "But sadly, this will be more like a last impression. Your soul is mine!" I say, shooting at her. She laughs and grabs the arrow out of the air.

"Oh, really? Now, that doesn't seem like a good way to handle me, now does it? Maybe you'd rather surrender? You and I both know who's going to win this fight, so why waste your efforts?" She says, fiddling with the arrow as I grab another out of my bag. I feel something prodding at my mind. "Agh! Stop it! Cut it out! AAAH!" I clutch my head. I feel her trying to get into my head. "Stop it, stop it, STOP IT! YOU'RE DEAD, LADY!" I shoot arrow after arrow, but she keeps dodging them.

"Ginger! Try not to listen to her! She'll hypnotize you! Watch out!" Maka yells from the bush. I turn to her and nod.

Right as I turn back around, she throws the arrow back at me. I duck, the arrow missing my head by inches.

"Ginger, she's too strong. We have to try soul resonance." Mem says from the bow. "No, not yet. We still have yet to master it!" I tell her, ducking behind a trashcan. "Ginger, trust me. I know you can do this."

I trust her.

Coming out from behind the can, I grab five arrows out of my bag. "LET'S GO, SOUL RESONANCE!" we say together.

"FLAMING ARROW!" The bow gets larger and the arrows catch on fire without burning my hands. I pull them back and shoot them at Ella, running towards her as they leave the bow.

She can't dodge them all, and one pierces her in the stomach. I finish her off with a blow from my soul wavelength, a technique my father taught me. Her body unravels and her soul is floating in mid air. Mem goes back to human form and grabs it.

Soul and Maka come out from behind the bush. "Wow, Ginger! That was amazing!" Maka gushes as Mem puts the soul in her mouth. "Thanks, that was nothing!" I tell her, scratching the back of my head.

"Hey, I did all the work!" Mem says after eating the soul. We start to head back to the apartment after talking, when Maka invites us over for a special dinner in celebration of our first collected soul. Since we barely have any food, we accept the invitation.

God, I hope this doesn't go wrong! Dinner parties ALWAYS go wrong.

**Maka: Don't worry, Ginger, This will be the best dinner party ever!**

**Ginger: Okay, I trust you.**

**Soul: Well, unless Blair-**

**Maka: Makes us cookies! Yeah! She makes cookies! (Soul, shut up! She doesn't need to know about our stripper cat!)**

**Soul: Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Yeesh...**

**Ginger: Umm... okay... well, tune in next time, readers!**

**All: See ya soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hiya guys! Back with a new extra-long chappy for you guys! This one gets a little cheesy, just a warning.**

**Mem: Ooh! Soul and Ginger, sittin' in a tree!**

**Ginger and Soul: SHUT UP MEM!**

**Mem: Admit it, you guys are in looooovve!**

**Ginger: No, we're not! And don't forget about Fish! (Fish is from another fanfic we wrote where Mem is a character) **

**Soul: Who the hell's Fish?**

**Mem: Wrong story, sister!**

**Ginger: *facepalm* Just read the chapter...**

When we get to Maka and Soul's apartment, she runs into the kitchen to make dinner. "I should go help out…" Mem says, following her out of the front hall. I look at Soul, but he's already sitting on the couch, his sweatshirt off and TV remote in hand. He turns on the TV and starts watching cartoons.

It just happens to be one of my favorite shows, so I sit in the armchair across from the couch. We stay silent for a while, so I decide to break the ice.

"So what kind of weapon are you?" I ask him, hoping to spark a conversation. "I'm a scythe. Why do you ask?" He looks at me expectantly. "I don't know, just curious." I sit back in my armchair and kick my feet up on the ottoman. Well, after taking off my sneakers.

I put my sneakers on the floor next to the ottoman. I notice Soul looking at them. I'm about to say something about it, when he interrupts me.

"Where'd you get those shoes?" he asks. I think its kind of silly, they're girls shoes after all. I think. "Umm, just some random shoe store. Why?" I tell him. He puts his foot up on the coffee table. "Because I have the same ones." He says. I tilt my head in confusion. "But, these are girls shoes." I say, looking at my worn out sneakers. "Weird." He says, turning his attention back to the TV.

Just then, Maka and Me walk out of the kitchen. Maka sets down a tray of food and we dig in. After eating, Maka cleans up and we're about to leave, when suddenly, a girl with purple hair comes in with only a towel on. "Damn it!" Soul says. "And it was almost a Blair free night, too!"

"Hey! I heard from Maka that there were some new students and I just had to meet you!" She says, letting her towel fall to the ground. Soul's head flies back in a nosebleed.

Mem and I just stand there gaping, when she opens her eyes and looks at us. "Oh, you're girls? Well, that's not as fun…" She says, looking disappointed.

"Gee, thanks." I say, slapping my hand over my eyes. Mem does the same. "Well, I guess we should be going now." She says, walking over to the door. She runs into it, then grabs the handle and drags me out.

Slamming the door behind her, she heads down the hallway back to our dorm. I stay and listen.

"THANKS A LOT, BLAIR! NOW OUR NEW FRIENDS THINK WE'RE WEIRD!" I hear Maka scream at the lady who I presume is Blair. "YEAH, AND THEY THINK I'M A GODDAMN PERVERT TOO! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME GET A NOSEBLEED AND LOOK ALL UNCOOL INFRONT OF THEM, HUH? YOU STUPID CAT!" Soul yells. I take that as my cue to leave.

"But, I was bored and I wanted someone new to play with!" I hear Blair say as I make my way back to the dorm. I laugh to myself. They really are strange.

I wake up in the morning with a huge headache. I complain for a while, but Mem eventually sends me to my room. I know, she can do that. Her evil eye is freaky as hell.

Well, if I'm going to be stuck in here for a while, I might as well do something productive. I take out my guitar and strum a few chords. After I tune it, I open my songbook to a new page. I've had this tune stuck in my head for a week; I might as well put it to words.

I start out by finding the right chords, and then I sing from my heart. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really helps because it makes it easier to rhyme things.

It's these battles

When I can't breathe

I fall

Down to my knees

Will I surrender?

No I won't

I'll just sit here and wait

For these walls to come down on their own.

It's these battles

They make me hope

That I can win

All on my own

But I know

That I can't

Because it's these battles

When you always need a friend

It actually sounds pretty good, considering it's only taken me about fifteen minutes of rhyming and humming to come up with that.

I have to pee, so I set my guitar down and open my door faster than I probably needed to. It bangs into something, and I look behind it to see if I've broken anything. Standing there is Maka, clutching her head.

"WHOA, WHAT THE HELL? WERE YOU LISTENING TO ME? THAT'S SO CREEPY! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? AND HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE AND WHY DIDN'T I HEAR YOU COME IN?" I say, freaking out. "Whoops! Sorry, I came over to apologize for last night and Mem let me in. I heard music coming from here so I came to listen. Ginger, that was beautiful! Did you just make that all up?" she asks excitedly.

"Umm, yeah… weren't you eavesdropping or something?" I say, trying not to piss my pants. I start towards the kitchen for breakfast. Maka follows.

"You're just as amazing a musician as Soul! You were great, Ginger!" She says like a fan girl. It's actually kind of funny.

"Wait, did you just say Soul is a musician?" I say, stopping suddenly. She runs into me. I turn around to face her. "Yeah! You didn't know? He plays the piano, and he's amazing!" she says, her hands at her cheeks. Wow. Soul plays piano? I seriously did not expect that.

"Well, I dropped of some food to keep you guys from starving. It's leftovers from last night. Can you get the dish back to me, though?" Maka says, starting out the door.

"Yup. See ya, Maka! Thanks for the food!" Mem says, putting eggs on the table. I dig in. I didn't realize how hungry I was before I started eating. Luckily, my headache's gone. And I feel a lot better.

Since it's the weekend, We don't have school and can do what we want. I decide to go running since I haven't gotten a lot of exercise since we enrolled. I change into my running clothes, put in my headphones and walk out the door.

"I'm going running, 'kay?" I yell to Mem. I hear a faint "Okay," coming from her bedroom. I make my way outside and start running on the sidewalk. Death City is pretty big and it would be easy to get lost, so I grab a map and decide my route. Stuffing it in the back pocket of my shorts, I start down the street. I run for a while, then stop to get a bottle of water. I find a coffee shop and walk in. It smells like coffee beans, I wonder why.

I pay for the water and walk outside. I notice there's a basketball court right next to the shop, so I walk down and sit on the bench. After I've caught my breath, I pick up the ball sitting by the hoop and take a few shots.

I don't actually play basketball on a team, but it's still fun to play in my free time. Mem plays, though. She's really tall, so she was pretty much made to be a basketball player. Me? I'm not as tall, but I'm fast and a good shooter. I do play lacrosse though. My dad was my coach. He used to always say that I could shoot bullets through the net.

No, stop it. You have no reason to be sad right now. Focus on the ball.

I work on my three-pointers. They're especially hard, considering I can't throw very far. After a while of shooting, I head back home. I wonder if anyone ever uses this court.

Oh, well. It's almost lunchtime now. How long was I here? Well, I did wake up late, so I guess not very long. When I get back, Mem is heating up the food Maka dropped off.

"What's for lunch?" I ask, setting the table. "Left overs from last night. It's mac and cheese." She says, taking it out of the microwave and setting it on the table. She spits it equally and we dig in. It's still just as awesome as it was last night. After finishing, I take the dish back to Maka and Soul.

I knock on the door. I hear Soul on the inside. "It's open!" He says. I open the door and step inside. "Soul? Is Maka here?" I ask. He's sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating lunch. "Nah, she's taking an extra-credit class at school. Why, did you need her?" he looks at me.

"Nope. Just dropping off this dish." I walk over and hand it to him. Suddenly, I think about what Maka said. How Soul plays piano. I try to ask him about it, but lose my nerve. He takes the bowl from my hands and brings it into the kitchen.

I get my nerve back. "Hey, Soul?" I ask him. I hope this doesn't sound stupid or anything. He turns towards me. "Maka told me you, umm… played the piano. Do you?" I say, my hands behind my back. He smiles.

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do. What did she say?" He washes the dish in the sink. "She said that you were really good. How long have you played? I play, too." I tell him, taking a seat at the table.

"I don't know." He shrugs. Suddenly, I get an idea. "Follow me!" I say, grabbing his hand. "Hey, Ginger, where are we going?" He says, trying to keep up. "It's a surprise!" I say. I drag him out of the building and down the street. I stop at my favorite store in all of Death City.

"A piano shop? He says, confused. I nod and pull him inside. "Hey, Gingey!" says Phil, the manager of the store. "Who's your boyfriend?" he asks, wiping down a piano in the front window. "He's not my boyfriend!" I say right as Soul says, "I'm not her boyfriend!" We look at each other, then our hands, and then we let go.

"Okay, okay, I believe you!" he swings the towel over his shoulder and walks over to the counter. "How can I help you today?" He asks.

"We just need to borrow Gene for a bit." I tell him. He nods and I lead Soul to the back room. "Who's Gene?" He asks as I pull out the key in my back pocket. "Yeah, Phil likes to name all the pianos. He lets me play Gene, his favorite, a lot." I unlock the door and we step in.

It's a small room, just a white carpet, brown walls, and a single window. In the center stands a white baby grand piano. I sit Soul down on the piano bench. He rests his hands on the keys as I sit next to him. "Go on. I'm listening." I tell him. He takes a deep breath.

His hands dance across the keys effortlessly. I close my eyes and hear the music. He really is amazing. And the song, it's mesmerizing. It's beautiful and haunting. It sounds like it was just randomly put together, all over the place. But it still sounds together and perfect in that way. There's something else about it that I just can't put my finger on. It's strangely…

Familiar.

The flashbacks overwhelm me. His smile. His warmth. The way he looked at me in that special way that let me know he loved me. And I loved him back. So much. It all comes back, and fades away just like he did. But it's still there. I can't breathe. I stand up, tears starting to trickle down my cheek.

"Ginger?" Soul says. He's stopped playing and is standing with me. He reaches for my hand. I shake my head and run out of the shop. Soul runs after me, yelling my name. But I can't hear him. I can't hear anything but the pounding in my head.

But Soul's too fast. He grabs my hand and yanks me around so I'm facing him. "Ginger! Stop running! What happened?" he asks. I still can't hear him, but I can read his lips.

My legs go numb. I sink to the ground, my hands in his. He crouches next to me. He waits until I've calmed down a bit to ask me again.

"Ginger, what's wrong? And stop crying, you're making me feel awkward and that's not cool." I feel him staring at me. I force myself to look him in the eye. He's been one of my closest friends at the academy. He deserves to know the truth.

"The song." I start, not knowing what else to say. "I know it. It was my dad's favorite song to play." Feel the tears pushing at my eyes. Trying to force their way out. "Did he… die?" he asks.

"Worse." I tell him. "He became a kishin. He... he wanted to be stronger to protect my mom and I, but it was too much for him and he turned evil. And I had to kill him. I didn't want to, of course. But he was about to rip my mom in half. It was either him or everyone else whos soul would become his dinner."

"Ginger, I... I'm so sorry. I didn't know-" Soul starts, but I cut him off. "It's okay, Soul. There's no way you could've. Mem's the only other person besides my mom that knows. I overreacted, anyway. Not very cool of me, I know." I wipe my eyes.

"No, you had every right to be sad. I probably would have to, if that happened to me." Soul stands up. "Please don't tell anyone?" I ask, looking up at him. I've stopped crying now.

"Trust me, I won't. It wouldn't be very cool of me either if I did." He helps me up and I look smile at him. He smiles back, this time for more than a second. "Thank you." I say, hugging him. He's surprised at first, but then he hugs me back.

"It feels a lot better now that I've told someone." I say into his shoulder. He reminds me of dad. Maybe we were meant to know each other.

**AN: Like it? The new chapters for Maximum Ride fanfic should be coming out soon, so if you're a fan, check those out!**

**Maka: Maximum ride?**

**Ginger: It's another story we're in.**

**Mem: And we even have wings!**

**Ginger: And special powers, too! Like Mem can make stuff out of thin air and she can read minds!**

**Mem: In a sense. And Gingerbread here can help the blind see and control any object with her mind! *mysterious voice**

**Soul: Sounds pretty cool. I might have to check that out some time.**

**Ginger: Please do!**

**Mem: But don't get jealous of Iggy, Soul! **

**Soul: Ha! Jealousy is so uncool. Wait, why the hell would I get jealous?**

**Mem: Oh, you'll see! Muahahaha... **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Okay, new chapter posted now! This one is set in Soul's POV rather than Ginger's. Tell me if you like Ginger's or Soul's! Or if you want it to be from another character's POV entirely!**

**Soul: Finally, I'm the one telling the story! This is gonna be pretty cool!**

**Ginger: So you're saying that my POV wasn't good?**

**Soul: You're words, not mine.**

**Ginger: Hey! At least my chapters are longer!**

**Soul: Well mine's more interesting, that's for sure...**

**Mem: Ladies, ladies, ladies, you're both pretty. Can I go home now?**

**Soul: Hey!**

**Ginger: *snort* Okay, well now it's story time, folks!**

I get to school on Monday and everyone is looking at me and whispering. "Hey, Maka, what's everybody talking about? They're looking at me, too." I ask her.

"I don't know. What would they have to say about you? Do anything uncool lately?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. I think about Ginger and her dad. Did someone see us? I hope not. That would suck if someone did.

"Nope. Nothing." I finally say. She looks at me for a bit, scanning my face to see if I'm lying. She shrugs and keeps walking. I follow her into the classroom.

We walk to our usual seats near the middle. This class is only Mem, Ginger, Maka and I, so they're the only ones here besides a few other students and Professor Stein. Mem stands up to let us in, Ginger on the end with me in between her and Maka and Mem on Maka's other side.

Ginger and I are silent while Mem and Maka are chatting up a storm. We sit there, waiting for everyone to get here and for class to start.

"Phil says that you're a really good pianist." Ginger says. "Tell him I said thanks." I reply, glad that she broke the silence between us.

"Why don't you, um… tell him yourself?" she says. I'm surprised by her comment. Is she trying to be mean? I don't think so. "You know, like, you could go and play Gene whenever you like. Or we could ever go together! I mean, if you want to." She adds after seeing my confusion.

"That song is pretty much the only one I know, and I don't want to make you feel like that again, cause that's not cool." I tell her. I really don't, that's not just an excuse.

"I could teach you some of the songs I know!" she says, fiddling with her jacket. "I'm not so sure that-" I start. She cuts me off.

"It'll be fun! Trust me." She says. I think about it. "Yeah, okay." I say finally.

"Yay! So we could go again this Sunday… does that sound all right? Or maybe Friday! What do you think?" she says excitedly. "Umm, how about Saturday?" I suggest. She nods. "Perfect! I can't wait!" she says.

She scribbles something down what looks like a planner and then snaps it shut. Just then Professor Stein starts class and Ginger puts the book away.

He starts saying something about dissections and I see Ginger cringe and shiver out of the corner of my eye. I mentally chuckle. It figures that would be her weakness.

After class, we meet Black Star, Tsubaki and Crona at where all the missions are posted. Maka introduces Ginger and Mem to Crona and vice versa. I forgot that they haven't met him yet. It's been what, three weeks? That's kind of surprising. I guess he does kind of fade into the background.

Unlike Black Star, who's currently bragging about how awesome he is. I tune out of his rant and focus on the missions. There's a lot available, surprisingly. I notice Mem and Ginger talking about one of them. I'm not sure whether they're still taking the easy missions.

Since they enrolled, they've collected nineteen souls already. Maka and I are somewhere in the forties, I'll have to ask her later. But they're doing really good for just getting here.

I notice some more girls looking at me and whispering again. This time, they're close enough where I can just make out what they're saying.

"Hey, did you hear about Ginger and Soul?"

"Are they together?"

"No, but everyone's saying that Ginger's even cooler than Soul! What do you think?"

"Gee, really? That seems unlikely."

Ginger? Cooler than _me?!_

"I think it's true, but have you seen the way that Ginger acts when she's around Soul? It's like her coolness kind of fades, maybe it's just my imagination."

"I noticed that, too. But my friends brother saw them hugging on Saturday! Do you think they're going out?"

So someone did see us. Ginger does seem to be kind of cool, I guess. I wonder why she apparently isn't as cool around me.

"Really? I don't really know Soul as the hugging type. Something's definitely up. Hey, check out this assignment…"

I tune out after that. This shocks me. People think Ginger's… cooler than me? But, I'm the coolest kid at the academy! There's no way!

Right?!

**AN: Sorry it's short, it's easier to write from Ginger's POV because she's... well, me. But I tried my best! Tell me what you think!**

**Ginger: Ooooo, Soul, are you getting jealous of meeee?**

**Soul: What? No! Of you? I mean- just, ya know- come on- like, seri- *cough cough***

**Ginger: Souley's jealous! Souley's jealous!**

**Soul: No I'm not!**

**Ginger: Haha! Looks like mr. Tough Guy can't handle the rumors! LOL!**

**Soul: SHUT THE HELL UP, GINGER!**

**Ginger: U MAD, BRO?!**

**Soul: AAAGHH!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hiya guys! Mem's getting pissed at me because I keep hogging the author's comments... (you can only post one comment per chapter) Anyway, this chappy's about Soul and Ginger's day out. Just two friends, hanging out at a piano shop... good times, good times.**

**Soul: I hope this one goes better than the last.**

**Ginger: Don't remind me.**

**Soul: Sorry, I forgot your super sensitive about it.**

**Ginger: Nah, it's fine. Are you ready for the best piano lesson ever?**

**Soul: Sure. Why not.**

**Ginger: Haha, then let's GO!**

I wake up Saturday morning and stretch. I look at the clock. It's almost time to leave, I better hurry and get dressed. I throw on a t-shirt, a pair of peach colored denim, my Uggs, and my Hollister sweatshirt. Mem's still asleep, like she usually is until ten o'clock on weekends, so I leave her a note and head out the door.

It's cool outside. Almost cold, but not quite. I make my way down to the piano shop. Walking inside, I hear music coming from the back. I walk closer. It's Phil, playing something I don't recognize.

The shop's not open yet, so it's pretty empty. I hope Soul doesn't get confused and leave. I told him it would most likely be closed, so I don't think that will be a problem.

I knock on the door. He doesn't notice I'm here. His playing is too loud. I sneak up behind him and crouch.

"BOO!" I yell. He jumps a few feet in the air, screams, and falls off the piano bench. I laugh really hard as he gets back up. "What was that for? I was in the _zone_, you know?" he rubs the back of his head and grabs his music.

"Sorry, but I did knock. "Soul's coming soon. That's okay, right?" I ask. He nods and walks out. "Just don't break anything, okay?" he calls from the front room. "We won't!" I assure him. I sit down at the piano and lay my hands on the keys.

I realize something. What the hell am I going to do once he gets here? I guess I'll teach him like I said, but what will I teach? I'll pick an easy one. Like… ooh! Viva la Vida! It's one of my favorite songs and it's easy, too! Or maybe one of the songs I wrote… would that be strange? It might seem like I'm too full of myself to teach him anything else. No, that's silly.

Inhale, exhale. It's going to be fine. I'll just tell him how to play one of the songs I wrote. But which one? I guess I could use the fingerings for the last song. Phil said it was great and that the guitar went well with it. I'll do that one.

I practice the song while I wait for him to get here. I try it without the lyrics. It's beautiful by itself. I close my eyes. It makes the music more real and amazing than before. Once I'm sure I can teach it to him, I get up to make myself a cup of coffee. I've just now realized how tired I am.

The cool thing about the piano shop is that believe it or not, it used to be an office building. Phil remodeled most of it though. He took down all the walls in the front so all the pianos would fit. But along the back of the shop, there are a lot of rooms that he filled with random things.

One of which is his bedroom. There's also a coffee room, a playroom (which he filled to the brim with kid's toys for when his daughter and her five children visit), a room filled with empty cardboard boxes, Gene's room, a TV room, and more.

I walk into the coffee room and grab a mug. Phil is almost out of my favorite kind (A brew whose name I can't spell), so I settle for some hot cocoa. I make another mug for Soul, just in case. I hear a faint knocking coming from the front room.

Speak of the devil. I run out of the coffee room and see Soul standing there, shivering. I laugh to myself and open the front door. "Its just Soul!" I call to Phil. "'Kay, thanks!" I hear him respond.

"I wasn't sure if I could come in or not." Soul says, stepping inside. "It's fine. Hot cocoa?" I ask. He nods. I grab his mug and bring it out to him. He takes a sip, still shivering. We finish our cocoa, talking about the missions we went on yesterday. "So who was it again?" Soul asks me. "I think it was something like the Pyro? All I remember is that is arm was a flamethrower. And you?" I say, sipping up another marshmallow.

"I don't even know. So that's your twentieth soul, right?" He tilts his cup to his mouth. "Yup." I laugh as he brings his cup down. He has a brown mustache on his upper lip. "Nice 'stache, bro!" I say with a snort. He laughs and wipes his mouth. We finish our cocoa and set our cups down on the table.

"Come on!" I say, dragging him into Gene's room. "You have to stop pulling me everywhere." He says, sitting down with me at the piano. I can tell that Phil just waxed it. It's shiny and smells like citrus.

"So what's on the agenda today, professor?" Soul asks. I giggle. "I think I'll teach you a song I wrote, first." I say, positioning my hands in the right places on the keys.

"Ah. I think Maka told me that you write songs." He says. "Oh, did she?" I show him the chords an octave up.

I play the first few bars and he mimics me. We go on like this for a while, until we can play it together perfectly. I let him play it by himself. He moves down to where I was sitting so he can play it in the right key.

It's amazing how different a piece of music can sound when a different person plays it. When I play it, it sounds like a cheerful, happy love song. But when Soul plays it, it sounds like a whole other piece.

I clap as he plays the last few notes. He mock bows and we laugh. "Bravo!" I say. I hold my hand up for a hive five. He slaps it and smiles.

"Thanks, Ginger." He says to me, being less goofy now. "Any time, Soul." I tell him, still smiling like and idiot. He looks pretty stupid right now, too, so we're even.

"So do you want to do this again next Saturday?" I ask, closing up the piano and locking the door on our way out. I notice that the mugs aren't on the table anymore. Phil must've gotten them. "Yeah. That would be fun." He says. We walk towards the front door. "See ya, Phil!" I call on my way out.

"Goodbye lovebirds!" he teases. I roll my eyes and let the door swing shut. "He's kidding." I assure him. He nods in understanding. We walk back to the dorms. It's weird how the last time I came out of the shop, I was crying and Soul was chasing after me. Now we're walking out together laughing and joking like best friends. Well, we are best friends.

"This was fun." Soul says. I nod. "It's cool, hanging out with just the two of us." I say, sticking my hands in my pockets. I can't believe I forgot gloves.

"Yeah." He says. His nose is red and his teeth are chattering slightly. "Cold?" I ask. He nods vigorously. "Freezing." I laugh and flip his hood up jokingly. He looks at me with one eyebrow raised. "Any better?" I say.

He looks up like he's thinking, then shrugs. "Maybe a little," he starts. "But my ears are pretty cold, too." I don't realize what he means by that until I feel my earmuffs being pulled off my head.

"Hey! Those are mine!" I yell after him. I chase him all the way back to the building and up the stairs. He tosses them to me once he reaches his and Maka's room.

"See ya, Soul!" I say, putting them around my neck and waving. "Later." He walks into the room and I catch a glance of Maka, standing in the front hall with Blaire in her arms and her foot tapping. Their argument is muffled. I'm pretty sure he forgot to tell Maka where he was going. I chuckle. Of course he would.

**AN: Tada! Not much to say this time, so byeee!**

**Ginger: Wait, we're still here!**

**Soul: Meh, I'm just glad you didn't act like such a crybaby.**

**Ginger: I was NOT a crybaby! I was just crying, just like anyone else would if their dad was a kishin and they had to kill him!**

**Soul: Geez...**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hiya guys! Sorry this is a late post, My friend Mali is over and she's trying to get me to let her write something to you guys, so here she is!**

**Mali: PPPPPPPPEEEEEEENNNNNNNIIIIIS SSS BITCHES!**

**AN: Nice.**

**Soul: that was... interesting...**

**Ginger: That's Mali for ya.**

**Soul: You have strange friends, Ginger.**

**Ginger: Like you?**

**Soul: ...**

**Ginger: HA! YOU DIDN'T DENY IT!**

**Mali: jk this is what i realy wanted to say: MAAAAYYY MMMMEEEEMMM (not mem as in the character, like what muscle man from regular show says.)**

**Soul: Well, it's been... nice, i guess... meeting you, but it's story time!**

**Mali: :3**

"Hey! Get your butt up and movin'! We got a mission to do, girly!" I hear someone say. I moan and turn over. I feel something sharp poking at my back.

"Cut it out, and we don't have to leave now, do we?" I say to her. I open my eyes to see Mem sitting next to my bed, partly transformed so arrows are coming out of her fingertips.

"My fingers are arrows, your argument is invalid." She says, pulling me out of bed. I half-heartedly try to wriggle out of her grasp as she drags me to my closet.

"Fine. But you're making breakfast." I say, starting to change. I put on a tank top and t-shirt, plus some peach-colored pants. I stuff my feet in my sneakers and walk to the kitchen without tying them.

After eating breakfast, Mem and I head out to finish our assignment. Since we've been doing so well, Lord Death gave us an assignment with Maka, Soul, Kid, Liz, Patty, Black Star and Tsubaki. Since the guy we're going after was originally going to a level two meister, he assigned all of us to take care of him.

We meet everyone at the train station and board the train. Because there are so many of us, we take up about half of the car. I notice Kid staring at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Problem?" I ask him, turning my head and swiping my bangs out of my eyes. "Your hair…" he says with an eye twitch. I look up at my red hair, which is parted to the left of the center of my head.

"Yes, I do have hair, don't I?" I say sarcastically. He lifts up a finger, pointing at me. "It's… unbalanced…!" he says like "unbalanced" is the most disgusting word he's ever heard.

"Oh, great. There he goes." Liz says, looking at her nails. Patty giggles. "What?" I ask them.

"IT MUST BE FIXED!" Kid says, practically leaping across the isle. "HEY, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET OFF OF ME, KID!" I say, trying to make him let go of my head. "Just let me fix your hair, damnit!" he says, whipping out a comb.

"If I do, will you leave me alone?" I say, looking at him. He nods, still focused on my uneven part. "Ugh, fine." I say, crossing my arms and turning around. I can feel his comb carefully pulling my hair back. I frown.

I see Soul snicker. I give him the evil eye. His smile disappears when he notices. I mentally grin. If looks could kill, my death glare would.

By the time the train ride is over, Kid still isn't done with my hair. "Ya know what? Gimme that!" I say, grabbing the comb. I snap it in half.

Kid's jaw drops. He picks up the two pieces of his comb and examines them carefully. "You're just lucky you broke it in two perfect half's!" He says, putting them in his back pocket. Maka snorts.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" I say. I bend over, gather my hair in my hands, and stand back up straight. I wrap a pony tail holder around it and tighten it. "Happy?!" I say to him angrily.

He walks behind me and measures my ponytail. "God, you're a natural! Exactly eight inches long!" he says with a sigh. "Oh, thank the lord…" I say. We walk to the deserted building and look at it.

"Are you sure we should go in there? It looks pretty creepy and I hate creepy!" Liz says. Patty laughs and points at her.

"Let's go! Creepy can't touch me! I'm the great assassin Black Star!" He says, marching into the building. "Wait! Black Star!" Tsubaki yells after him. We follow them into the old apartment building. Once inside, we walk up a flight of stairs to the roof.

"He should be here somewhere…" Maka says, checking the note Lord Death left us. "What was his name again?" I ask. She puts her index finger on the note and drags it down a couple lines. "Ah! Here it is. It says his name is… the Shadow Master. Huh." She says when she finds it. I look at the list with her.

"Pretty badass name if you ask me." I say, looking behind the door that we just came out of. She shrugs. "Where the hell is he, anyway?" Soul asks.

"He's probably hiding because he knows that I'm here. I mean, who wouldn't be afraid of me?" Black Star says, standing on the edge of the rooftop. "After all, I'm the biggest star he'll ever face!" He loses his balance for a second, flailing around on only one foot. Mem laughs.

"Yeah, just try not to fall off the building first," she says. Patty bends down to look into an air vent. "HELLO? MR. SHODOW MASTER, ARE YOU DOWN THEEERREE?" She yells into it. "Patty, I seriously doubt he's going to be in and air vent." Liz says, her hand on Patty's back.

"Could I have gotten the address wrong?" Maka says, double and triple checking the note.

"Nah, he's probably just on a different floor." Soul says, heading for the exit. He grabs the handle. Right as he turns it, I sense someone-or something- behind the door. Their soul isn't human, but kishin.

"Soul, look out!" I say, diving for him. I knock him out of the way just as three black arrows shoot out from the darkness of the stairwell. Liz screams.

"Thanks, Ginge." Soul says, letting out a deep breath. "You owe me, dude." I tell him as I get up. "Soul! Now!" Maka yells, her hand outstretched. He transforms into a scythe and is spinning. He chops off the end of my bangs.

"HEY! WATCH IT, SOUL!" I yell at him. "Sorry!" he yells from the scythe. I roll my eyes. "Mem?" I call to her. "Right!" She transforms along with Liz and Patty.

"Tsubaki! Enchanted sword mode!" Black Star yells. She transforms, too.

Something emerges out of the stairwell. We're lined up and about to pounce when the Shadow Master puts his head up. "Hello, Ginger." He says. I take a step back. Something about him seems familiar, like I know him somehow. Then he smiles. Oh, no…

"Dad?"

**Mem: DUN dun DAAAAAAHHHH! **

**Ginger: :'(**

**Soul: You okay, Ginge?**

**Ginger: WHY ARE THE AUTHORS SO MEEEAAANN TOOO MEEEEE?**

**Soul: *shrug***

**Ginger: Really? Only a SHRUG?**

**Soul: What? I can't think of anything else!**

**Ginger: How about, "It's fine, I bet your going to kick some serious ass in the next chapter?"**

**Soul: Sorry...**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I see you guys liked my dramatic ending last chapter? Well, I got up extra early this morning to write this new one, and the next should be coming sometime this afternoon, so keep your eyes peeled!**

**Soul: Where's Ginger? She's always in the author's notes.**

**Mem: I don't know, maybe she's still sad because of the last chapter?**

**Maka: I hope she's alright.**

**Soul: I hope she'll show up for the author's note at the end of this chapter.**

**Ginger: *walks in with a bowl of ramen* Hey, guys, what's up? **

"Dad?" I say, dropping Mem. Surprisingly, she doesn't complain. I drop to my knees. "No way… it can't be…" I put my head in my hands. It's taking everything I have not cry right now. I will NOT let him see me cry.

"How are you? Is Mommy okay?" He says, walking towards me. I don't respond. He kneels next to me. He tries to touch my shoulder, but suddenly, Soul appears next to me, his arm a blade. He positions it right next to his neck.

"Don't touch her!" He yells at him. I want to say something, but the words don't come out. "Soul…?" Maka says, confused. Nobody says a word besides that.

"Who's this? He seems to be very close to you. I can see it in your souls." My dad says. His voice is soft and caring, just like I remember it. "Hey, quit looking at our souls, you creep!" Soul says.

"Soul, what's going on? Do you know this guy?" Maka asks. I look at her, the tears pushing their way out. I can't hold it in any longer.

"No! Mom's not fine! You put her in a hospital, you bastard!" I yell at him, sobbing. Soul's taken aback by the forcefulness in my words. "Ginger, are you-"

"No, shut up, Soul! This doesn't concern you!" I yell at him. I didn't mean it, but I can't seem to control all this hate and anger coming out of me. I walk up to him.

"I've killed you once, and I'll do it again! How the hell are you here! I stabbed you in the stomach!" I say to my father. I'm right in his face, so close I can feel his breathing.

"You don't seem to like me very much, do you?" He says, turning around and walking to the edge of the roof. I consider pushing him off, but that wouldn't be as fun as kicking his ass again.

"That wasn't me, darling. Haven't you ever wondered why they call me the Shadow Master? I can control shadows. That was my shadow, my daughter." He says. I scowl.

"You are NOT my father, and I will NEVER be your daughter!" I say, grabbing two of my arrows and trying to stab him in the back. He appears behind me. I stab that one, too.

"Love you too, sweetie pie." He says, taking the arrow out of his stomach. "Wha?" I say, standing up straight. I close my eyes.

"There you are!" I say, kicking the real one of the five illusions of my father standing around me. "Oof… Well, you're a smart girl. Using your soul sensing powers to find the original? I raised you well." He says, coughing up blood.

"AAAAAGHH!" Soul yells, bringing his blade down on his head. "Oooh, feisty one, aren't you?" He says, appearing behind him and shooting a black spear into his shoulder.

"AGH! Damn you…!" Soul says, grabbing his arm. "SOUL!" I yell, running to his side. The blood is seeping through his sweatshirt. "You ass!" Kid yells, shooting bullet after bullet at my dad. They go right through him.

"What the-" He starts, but my dad is too quick. He stabs him in the stomach. Kid just laughs and jumps out of his reach. "Haha, you think I'll die that easily? I'm a grim reaper, you bastard!" He says. He puts Patty up to his head. "Well, your dead!" She says right before Kid pulls the trigger. He falls back and cackles.

He falls below the surface of the roof and his laughing becomes muffled. We all watch our feet. "Hey, can you guys step back and let the big star handle things now?" Black Star says, annoyed. I guess he's right; he really hasn't done anything, has he? Then dad appears right next to Black Star, still laughing creepily. Black Star swipes Tsubaki at him and chops his head off without even looking. "See?" He says. Point taken.

"If you want to fight then fight. If you don't, then stay out of my way. He's mine. You can help, but I get the final blow. This is my wrong that needs righting, not yours." I say to everyone. Kid nods. Black Star reluctantly and painfully nods, too. Soul looks at me. I smile. He smiles back.

I feel a boost of energy. Is that really all it takes? Something as simple as a smile from a friend? I don't have time to think about it, though. I need to focus.

"GINGER! HE'S COMING RIGHT BE-" Maka yells. I sense it too, so I turn and face him. "You leave my friends alone, you hear me? This is between you and me!" I tell him. He just laughs and shakes his head. "Now, that wouldn't be fair, would it? What if they attack me?" He says. It's amazing how he can stay this calm.

"Fine. But you're still mine. Got it?" I say. He nods. "Okay, then." He says. He shoots a spear at me and I duck. "You're going to have to try harder than that, Dad!" I say.

"Wait, is he your _dad?_" Maka asks me in shock. "Yeah, haven't I been calling him that this whole time?" I say, firing an arrow at him. He grabs it and snaps it I half. I hear Mem grunt from inside the shaft.

"You okay?" I ask her. She nods from the bow. "Yeah. It's fine. I think he might've broken one of my fingers, though." She says, wincing. "Hang in there, Mem." I say.

I pick up the broken arrow and put it in the case. Grabbing another arrow, I pull it back and aim while my dad is focused on Black Star. I release the arrow, it hitting him in the arm. He pulls it out with a grunt. I run up to him, another arrow in hand.

"You're DEAD!" I scream as I shove it in his stomach. He crouches on the ground, then stands up, laughing like a maniac.

"Stop it, you're freaking me out!" Liz yells from her gun. Maka looks at all of us. "We have to resonate, guys. It's the only chance we have of beating him." She says. We nod and look at each other.

"LET'S GO, SOUL RESONANCE!" We yell together.

"Death Cannon!"

"Witch Hunter!"

"Enchanted Sword Mode!"

"Flaming Arrow!"

We scream at the same time. Soul get's a lot bigger. Black Star gets these tattoos that weren't there before. Liz and Patty become attached to Kid's arms and are positioned and ready to fire. Mem get's bigger and my arrows catch on fire with out a scorch on my hand. I can feel our resonance rate getting higher and higher.

Kid fires. It hits him dead on. Black Star hits him repeatedly with Tsubaki. He coughs up more blood. Maka uses Soul to hit him in the head. He's already weak, so he can't defend himself. I walk up to him, all five arrows pulled back in the bow. I hold them next to his head.

"Goodbye, dad." I say with a tear in my eye. I shoot the arrows into his head. He unravels and his soul floats in front of me. I take it in my hands and hug it. I can't stop the tears now. I feel Soul behind me. He hugs me and I feel his warmth against me. It makes me feel a little bit better to know he's here with me and he won't let go until I want him to. Just a little, though.

No one says anything. Mem transforms back and hugs me as well. "Thank you, guys. You're the best." I say, hugging them back. We sit there for a while, when I let go and stand up. I wipe my eyes and hand my father's soul to Mem.

"You can have it. I'm not taking any chances." I say to her. She nods and I turn away. I can't watch. I hear her swallow and turn back around. "Lets go." I say, walking down the staircase. We make the trip back in silence.

We get back to the dorms without Kid; he lives with Lord Death in a mansion I think. Black Star and Tsubaki wave goodbye and walk into their room. We go up another two floors and get to our dorms. I don't look at Soul, but I can feel him staring at me. I look up at him as I hear the door to his dorm open. He smiles.

But this time, I forget to smile back.

**AN: So did you guys like this battle? I wrote it because of the requests form both of my besties, Memory and Katsumi. It's funny how they don't know that they're both my best friends, doncha think? :3**

**Soul: Feeling better, Ginger?**

**Ginger: I'm just glad it's over with.**

**Soul: Good.**

**Mem: God, why aren't you two going out yet?**

**Soul and Ginger: What?!**

**Mem: You guys are like, perfect half's!**

**Ginger: Shut up, Mem!**

**Soul: *to himself* Not cool...**

**Ginger: Well, I think you guys should go now before I slap Mem, there's a no-violence rule for authors notes. Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hey guys! No violence in this chapter, sorry. But every book has to have a chapter where nothing goes wrong, right? I hope you like it!**

**Soul: Great. I'm kind of getting sick of all these fights. It's nice to get out and have fun for once.**

**Maka: Actually, Soul, this one's going to be just us girls. **

**Ginger: Well, excepting Mem. But it's still just going to be us, sorry Soul!**

**Soul: Aw, come on! **

**Ginger and Maka: *shrug***

**Soul: We'll see whether I'm in this chapter or not...**

I wake up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I open my eyes to find myself lying on the couch. Mem's not around, so I answer the door. Tsubaki, Maka, Liz, and Patty are standing at the door when I open it.

"Umm, hey guys. What's up?" I ask them. "Oh, nothing much. We just wanted to check on you." Maka says.

"Can we come in?" Liz asks, looking around. I nod and step aside as they file in. They all sit on the couch I was sleeping on. I speed fold the blanket and put it on a rocking chair. I sit in my recliner. "Well, I'm fine. But thanks for caring." I say to them.

"So, umm, about your dad…" Maka starts. I close my eyes. I guess they already know most of the story, so I tell them the rest.

"Oh my gosh, that's terrible! I'm so sorry to hear that!" Tsubaki says after I finish. "No, It's okay." I say, getting up to grab a cup of water. "Are you guys thirsty?" I ask, putting my glass under the faucet and turning it on.

"Sure." Maka says while the others nod. I grab them water, too, with a bendy straw for Patty. She blows bubbles into the cup. "Patty, just drink it." Liz tells her. "Yes ma'am!" She says, sipping up the water.

"We just wanted to let you know that you're not alone." Maka says, setting her glass down on the coffee table. "I'm not?" I ask. I guess I didn't realize that these guys could have had problems too. Pretty selfish of me.

"Yeah, like Patty and I lived on the streets before we met Kid." Liz says, taking a sip. "We had to steal and stuff just for dinner." She says. "Yup! But then Kid came and he gave us a place to live and EVERY thing!" Patty says with big hand gestures.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" I say, finishing my cup and bringing it into the kitchen. I put it in the dishwasher and sit back down. "It's okay. It's better now that we have Kid." She says, shrugging.

"And my dad cheated on my mom and now they're getting a divorce." Maka adds. She looks at her lap. "Wow. He must be an ass." I say. She laughs. "Yeah, he is." She says.

"And I had to kill my brother, just like you and your dad." Tsubaki says. I feel really bad. She knows exactly what it feels like. "Oh, Tsubaki, I'm so sorry!" I give her a hug and she looks up. "He was kishin, too. But it was still really hard for me." She hands me her glass. I put all the glasses away and sit back down.

"Wow, you guys. I must seem pretty selfish, making you worry like that when you had problems of your own." I say. And I mean it, too. "It's no problem. So the ice rink opened up yesterday, do you want to go check it out?" Liz says.

"Really? Sure!" I say. I used to go ice-skating with my mom every winter. My dad didn't usually go, he was terrible at it.

We get to the rink and it's almost empty. Well, I guess that's what we get for coming at ten o'clock in the morning on a Monday. Lord Death gave us the day off since most of us had injuries of some sort.

When we get to the rink, we buy our skates and slip them on. We walk down to the ice, wobbling and laughing like idiots.

We get on the ice and it feels so familiar. It's funny how my legs are colder than the rest of my body, probably because they're closer to the ice. But it doesn't bother me. I notice Maka trying to stay upright and Tsubaki beside her, holding her shoulder. Maka loses her balance and they both fall. I laugh and help them up.

Patty zooms around the ice, her arms outstretched behind her and Liz trying to keep up. "Hey! Patty, wait for me!" She yells, almost falling over. I skate around the rink a couple of times. It's nice, hanging out with all the girls for once. I wish Mem were here. She probably wouldn't have come if she'd known, anyway. But she still would have completed the group.

I make a circle around Maka, who currently has one of those walker things so she doesn't fall. Tsubaki is skating next to her. "Hey, guys! Having fun?" I say, circling in closer so they can hear me. "Maka nods, not taking her eyes off her feet. Tsubaki laughs. "Yeah. Maka's never been skating before, though." She says. I pat Maka on the back. "You'll get used to it!" I say.

I notice Patty skating towards us. I wait until she gets into hearing range. "Hey, Patty! Three laps around the rink, loser buys the winner hot chocolate!" I yell at her. "Haha, you're on! WEEE!" She shouts, I gather speed to catch up with her.

I stick my tongue out as I pass her. She laughs and skates faster. Where'd she learn how to skate this fast? After two laps, I pull in front of her. She frowns, and then grabs my jacket right as we cross the "finish line," aka Liz and Tsubaki standing across from each other at the entrance.

"Hey, no fair!" I say, jokingly. Patty laughs and does a victory lap. I laugh with her. I see Liz snickering about something and looking at me. "What? Do I have something on my face?" I ask, tilting my head. Then someone grabs my shoulder and shouts, "BOO!" in my ear. I shriek and turn around. Soul, Black Star and Kid are standing behind me, all laughing.

"Soul! Don't do that!" I say, hitting him with the end of my scarf. "Sorry, it was too tempting!" he says, snickering. They already have their skates on. Patty laughs at me, pointing and clutching her stomach. I shrug and laugh too. I guess it was pretty funny.

We skate around for a while, when Patty skates up to me and puts a hand on my stomach. "Tag! You're it!" She says, skating away. "Haha, not for long!" I say. I speed up and slap Kid on the back. "You're it!" I tell him, skating backwards from him. He smiles devilishly and starts to come after me.

"No tag backs!" I say right as he reaches for my arm. "Ugh, really?" He says, disappointed. He skates away and tags Black Star, who's talking to Tsubaki when he tagged him on the arm. "Hey, what was that for?!" I hear Black Star yell at Kid as he glides away. "Tag!" he says over his shoulder, skating towards the other end of the rink. Black Star simply puts his hand on Tsubaki's shoulder and skates away.

"Here, I'll get it for you." I say to her skating up and holding my hand out. She slaps it and grins. "Ha! You're it, Ginger!" She says. I chuckle. I wasn't expecting that. I speed skate up to Soul and Maka. I mess with Soul's hair. "No tag backs!" I shout at him. "Haha, sure!" he says, speeding after me. I glide to the end of the rink. Right before the wall, I make a sharp right, but Soul follows.

He catches up and wraps his arms around me. "Gotcha!" he says into my ear. I laugh and grab his hands that are around my waist. "Stop it! You're breathing on my neck and it tickles!" I say to him. He smiles. "What, like this?" he wiggles his fingers on my stomach and I can't stop laughing.

"Cut it out, Soul!" I say, still laughing. "I can't breathe!" He stops and I try to catch my breath. He lets go and grabs my hand. He drags me to the entrance. Everyone is just getting off the ice and taking their skates off.

"Hot cocoa, anyone?" Liz says, holding the door open for everyone. We file in the lobby of the rink and walk upstairs to the café.

Patty pushes me to the front counter. "You owe me a cocoa, lady!" she says with her hands on her hips. "Alright! I'm going, I'm going!" I say with a laugh. I pay for two hot chocolates and hand her one. She takes a big gulp and gasps.

"HOOOOOTTT! HOT HOT HOT HOT HOOOOTTT!" She yells. We all laugh. Even Kid cracks a smile. "You know, it's called _hot_ chocolate for a reason, Patty." Liz says, handing her an ice cube she got from the woman at the register.

Patty sticks it on her tongue and lets out a deep breath. "Thsankss, thister…" she says, leaning back in her chair. I grab a seat next to Maka and Liz on the couch across from the fireplace. I blow on my cocoa and set it on the table to cool. I think I'll pass on tongue blisters for now.

"So, Ginger," Liz says to me after a bit. I turn towards her. "Yeah?" I ask, checking my cocoa to see if it's cool yet. "What's up with you and Soul? Are you two going out yet?" She says. I almost spit out the chocolaty drink in my mouth at her question.

"What? What do you mean?" I say, swallowing. "You two seem so cute together. And you're not doing a good job at hiding your flirting, you know." She says. Maka tilts her cup to her mouth and wipes her upper lip. "Yeah, I've noticed that, too. You guys would make an awesome couple!" She adds.

"Not you guys, too… Mem says that all the time." I say, annoyed. "Well, it's kind of obvious you like each other." Liz points out. She pats her sister's back as she coughs after choking on her cocoa for drinking too fast. I finish my cup and set it on the table.

"No, we don't like each other. At least I think he doesn't like me, but it would be kind of weird to go out with someone else's partner, don't you think?" I say. Maka shrugs. "I'd be fine with it as long as you guys are." She says.

I sneak a peek at Soul. He's talking with Kid about something. I catch his eye as Kid responds. Blushing, I turn back to Liz and Maka. "See that? You guys just shared a secret unspoken connection." Liz says. I snort. "Secret unspoken connection?" I say. "Yeah. I see you guys do it all the time!" Maka tells me.

"We do not!" I say. They nod together. I let my head fall in defeat. "Okay, maybe I might possibly have a teeny tiny thing for Soul…" I admit. "Ha! I knew it!" Liz says, pointing at me. I push her finger out of my face and get up to throw away my cup so they can't see me smiling. I guess he is kind of cute. And we have a lot in common.

But I doubt it would work out. I mean, he is Maka's partner, and I'm Mem's. It would be weird. Plus, we might decide to team up, and that would just leave Maka and Mem by themselves.

It's a bad idea. I push Soul out of my mind as I sit back down. Maka is talking to Tsubaki and Liz is trying to calm Patty down. I put my hands behind my head and lean back.

"What're you smiling about?" Liz asks after Patty is calm. "Oh, nothing." I respond, not even realizing I was smiling. She grins with me after a second.

I get the feeling that Maka and Liz aren't going to give up that easily. But for now, I might as well enjoy myself.

**AN: Tada! This is honestly so fun to write, I actually have dreams about what's going to happen next sometimes! I can't stop writing! God, I need a social life...**

**Soul: Ha! Told you I would be in this chapter!**

**Ginger: That was cool! We should so do it again sometime!**

**Soul: So apparently you have a "thing" for me, don't you Ginger?**

**Ginger: What!? No! I just said that to umm, get them to shut up! Yeah!**

**Soul: Suuurrre.**

**Ginger: Shut up, Soul! It's not like you're not crushing on me! It's kind of obvious!**

**Soul: Umm, uh... Whoops! It looks like this author's note is done now, bye!**

**Ginger: Ha! I knew it! Wait, Soul! Where are you going?**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hi guys! I wrote an extra long chapter today! It's so long because I'll be in North Carolina for the week, and My grandma only has one computer and I probably won't have time to write a whole chapter. So I'm going to start the next one here, and hopefully I'll have it up sometime soon!**

**Soul: Have fun in North Carolina, Ginger.**

**Ginger: I will! My Grandma always makes the best Thanksgiving dinner! And I get to hang out with my mom's whole side of the family for a week! Plus, my cousin and I are going to go Black Friday shopping after! It's going to be so fun! And I get to bring my dog! **

**Mem: I wish I could come...**

**Ginger: Don't worry, I'll get you something from our shopping trip!**

**Mem: Fun.**

**Soul: Hey, do I get anything?**

**Ginger: Umm, sure. I'll find you something!**

**Maka: And me?**

**Ginger: *sigh* Yeah. Anyone else want a christmas gift? -.-**

**Kid: Well, since you're offering...**

**Ginger: Kid! How the hell did you get in the author's note?**

**Kid: The you in real life wanted to make Katsumi happy so she brought me here! Isn't that wonderful?**

**All but Kid: *facepalm***

I get to school Friday morning and Mem is still mad at me for not bringing her with us to the rink. "You hate ice skating! You probably wouldn't have come anyway!" I say to her. She crosses her arms. "I would have been plenty happy with watching you guys and drinking hot chocolate!" she says matter-of-factly. I roll my eyes. "Sure you would."

I walk in the door and I immediately see Soul, Maka and Crona walking down the hall. I run to catch up with them, dragging Mem along with me.

"Hey, guys!" I say when I get to them. "Hey Ginger!" Maka says. Crona doesn't say anything. "Morning Crona!" I say to him. He looks up and waves. I smile. Ragnarock comes out of his back. "Hiya Gingey! Got any food?" He asks me. I laugh and toss him a candy. "Here," I say as he pops it in his mouth.

"Got any more?" He asks when he finishes the first one. "Ragnarock, don't be greedy." Crona says to him. "I can take how many candies I want, thank you very much!" Ragnarock says, pulling at his cheek. "Stop it, that hurts!" Crona complains. They're such a weird pair. But I guess there's not much you can do when your partner is literally in your blood.

Crona goes to his class and I drag Mem into the classroom along with Soul and Maka. She still hasn't gotten over her fear of Sid, so I have to pretty much carry her inside. "No! I like my brains! I like them a lot! Please don't eat them!" She whines. "Oh, shut UP you baby!" I say. I kick her in the arm and she looks at me angrily, but stops.

We sit in the back so Mem can be as far away from Sid as possible. I can't believe she's still scared of him after all this time. It's been a month already.

I sit between Soul and Maka while Mem sits in the corner of the top row, curled up in a ball. Maka nudges me with her elbow. I turn toward her, tilting my head in confusion. She points to Soul. He's writing something I can't read on a piece of paper that looks like the homework from last night.

I roll my eyes. "Really? You're still at that?" I ask her. She scowls. "Geez. You make it harder for me to get you guys together." She says. I laugh to myself. I guess she doesn't mind me knowing her plan.

I can't help but think about what it would be like to have a boyfriend. Not saying Soul, but in general. I don't think I've ever had one, actually. I guess I haven't really thought about it until now.

That's all the thinking I can do for now, though. Sid just started class. I tune in to what he's saying. "So we're going to practice combat today, since few students have been doing well enough to not need practice." He's saying as I start to listen.

Combat? Like fighting? But who will we fight, the teachers? I don't think that would be a very good idea. I take a look at Maka, who's acting like this is all completely normal. Mem isn't as scared as she was before, but she's still shaking a little. I can tell it's all she can do not to freak out right now.

"Each of you will be in groups of four, each group having two meisters and their weapons. The winner of each fight will receive extra credit points in this class. This lesson will be to see how well you can fight without using soul resonance. Understood?" Sid continues. We'll be fighting other students? That seems kind of strange. What if we injure each other?

Oh, well. I don't know anyone else in this class besides Maka and Soul, so I cross my fingers and hope we get paired up. I wouldn't want to fight anyone else, to be honest. It'd be too weird to fight someone I don't know.

Sid leads us outside into the woods near the academy. "Okay, I'll be pairing you up now." He says, taking a piece of paper out of his back pocket. "Okay, Ox and Kim? You and your partners will be in one group." He says as two guys and two girls step up.

One of the guys is bald and is wearing these weird glasses, while another guy with strange eye wear stands next to him. The two girls, one with short pink hair and the other with long brown hair are standing together, back to back.

Sid calls some other names as more and more students group up and head off to fight each other. There are only about six more pairs when he finally calls my name. "Ginger? You and Mem will be in a group with Maka and Soul, so find each other and figure out a spot to fight." He says, looking at us. Mem flinches. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I drag Mem over to Maka and Soul. "Where should we go?" Maka asks. "I don't really know the layout of this place, so you guys will have to pick a spot." Maka thinks for a bit. "I don't know. I guess we can just look around for an open space." She says, making her way down the path with Soul. I follow them, still pulling Mem with me.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Mem! Can you just walk? My arm's getting tired!" I say to her. She looks at me and growls. "Fine…" She says, standing up straight and walking next to me. We find a place where there aren't many trees and stop.

"I think this is a good spot." Maka says, putting her hands on her hips. I nod. "Yeah. It'll work for now." I take my hands out of my pockets and pull my hair into a ponytail. I'm not taking my chances with Soul. I'd prefer to keep my hair this length.

Since my hair is kind of short, some of it falls in my eyes. I tuck it behind my ear and hold my hand out. "Mem, transform please!" I say. She nods and takes the form of the bow and arrows. I grab an arrow, noticing that it's duller than usual. I didn't know she could control that, but I'm still glad that it isn't sharp enough to cause a lot of damage if it were to hit Maka.

Soul transforms, too. Maka grabs him out of the air. "Ready?" she asks. "When you are." I say with a smile. I wonder if Soul can dull his blade like Mem. I sure hope he can.

"Then let's go," Maka says, crouching in a fighting stance. I pull back my first arrow and aim for her arm. If I do manage to hit her, I'd rather not have it be in her head.

I release the arrow and she jumps out of the way. She runs up and swings Soul at me. I guard with Mem, not a scratch on her smooth oak shaft. I push off the blade and roll out of the way of Maka's attack. I grab another arrow and hold it in between my fingers. I twirl it around and hit it on Soul's handle. It's Maka's turn to guard now.

She pushes with so much force; I can barely manage to hold the arrow in the same place. When I pull the arrow away from where I was holding it, I get pushed back a few feet. "You're stronger than you look." I tell Maka. She smiles. "I can say the same for you," She swings and I duck to avoid losing my head. Literally.

I take the arrow and shoot it at her. She jumps just in time to avoid it hitting her in the neck. Whoops, I forgot I'm supposed to be aiming for her arms and legs. Oh, well. At least it didn't hit her.

I take two arrows and shoot them at the same time. One hits the tree behind her; the other skims her arm as she moves out of the way. She puts her hand on the wound.

"Maka? You okay?" I hear Soul ask from the scythe. She nods. "Yeah, it's not very deep." She gets back up and runs at me. I try to dodge, but she's too fast. She knocks me into a tree with the end of the scythe. I fall to the ground, lying on my stomach. I get up on my hands and knees and cough. I see some blood come out of my mouth.

"Ginger! Get up! She's coming!" Mem says. I put my head up and see Maka running at me. I throw myself to the left to avoid her attack. I roll into a kneeling position. I close one eye and look down the arrow positioned in the bow. I pull back, the feathers at the end of it tickling my cheek.

I'm not going to win this fight by just grazing her. She didn't really seem too reluctant to chop me into pieces, either. _Screw this, I'm not losing. _ I think, aiming for her stomach. I release. She tries to jump out of the way, but she's moving to fast and trips over her own feet.

While she's down, I grab the nearest branch and pull myself up into the tree. After all, a bow and arrow works best when you're sniping. I quietly pull back an arrow. Maka gets up and looks around. "Where'd she go?" She asks no one in particular. Soul answers anyway. "I don't know, but you'd better find her quick or you'll be skewered," he says to her.

I aim for her stomach again. It's the best place to aim if you're not looking for a fatal hit but you still want to cause a lot of damage. She still doesn't notice where I am. When she turns around so she's facing in my general direction, I let the arrow go. It silently flies into her side. "Agh! Damnit!" She falls to her knees. Soul transforms. "Maka!" He says, crouching at her side. She falls on her back so she's lying down.

I jump out of the tree and walk up to them. "Don't worry, she'll be fine." I assure Soul, kneeling next to him and surveying the damage. "It's not fatal. My guess is she'll be healed by next week." I tell him, lifting up her shirt so I can see how deep the arrow went. I pull it out of her stomach and stick it in my bag. Maka grunts, putting her hand on the place where the arrow hit.

"How do you know?" Soul asks. He looks at me. "If you want to be a good attacker, you have to know the strength of your attacks." I say. Shouldn't he know that?

Mem transforms back and stands behind me. "I think we won this fight." She says, looking at her nails. I nod. "You guys were good though. I actually thought we could've lost." I say to him.

"Thanks, I think." Soul replies. I chuckle. He looks back at his partner. "Maka? Can you hear me?" He asks, poking her in the cheek. "I'm fine, you idiot. Stop poking me!" She says, annoyed. He pulls his finger back. Mem laughs. "We should probably head back to Sid, then." Soul says.

"You might want to carry her, though. She probably can't walk with that injury. Try not to move her to abruptly, either. It'll most likely sting." I advise him. He nods and picks her up. Maka groans. "Told you." I say, standing up with him.

We walk back to Sid. After a lot of cursing and yelling, I finally convince Mem that Sid won't eat her brains. "We're back." Soul tells him. He turns toward us. "I'm guessing Ginger and Mem won?" He infers, looking at Maka. "Yup." I say, sticking my hands in my pockets.

Sid marks something down on his clipboard. "Okay, then. Class is almost over, you guys are free to do what you want until your next class." He tells us. He shoos us away with his hand.

"You should probably bring Maka to the nurse so she can get patched up. We'll come with you." I tell Soul. He nods. "God, she's heavy." He says. I smile.

We get to the nurse's office and Mem holds the door open for us to walk in. Nurse Mira is sitting at her desk when she notices us. "Good morning, children. What's the matter?" She asks us. She has bandages over her mouth and nose and her hair is in dreadlocks. She stands up and walks over to us.

"Maka was injured while we were practicing combat in class. I suspect that it's not that severe, but she still needs medical attention." I explain. She nods. "I'll take her off your hands, Soul." She says, holding out her hands. Soul places Maka in her arms and Mira brings her over to the beds reserved for injured students.

"How did she get hurt?" Mira asks. She grabs a bandage from a cabinet and starts to wrap it around Maka's wound. "I shot an arrow into her side. It was pretty dull, though, and didn't go very deep." I say to her. "You shot her with an arrow?" she asks me, looking up from Maka with her eyebrow raised. I blush.

"We were in Sid's class. We were practicing fighting without using soul resonance." Mem tells her. She nods in understanding. "Figures it would happen in Sid's class." She says, turning her attention back to Maka.

"You guys can go now. I'll take care of Maka. She might have to stay over night, though. She lost a good amount of blood and needs plenty of rest." She says, showing us to the door. "Is she going to be okay?" Soul asks her. She nods. "Of course. Like I said, one night here and she'll be as good as new." Mira promises him.

We walk out into the hall. Mem checks her watch. "We still have about ten minutes until our next class. What should we do?" She says. I shrug. "I guess we could just wait for it to start." I say.

We have the next class with Professor Stein, so we go and wait outside his classroom. I sit on the ground next to the door. "Ugh. This is boring." I say as Mem leans against the wall next to me. Soul stands across the hall. "Class is almost over. We can go in in a few more minutes." Mem says, checking her watch again.

"Where did you two learn to fight like that?" Soul asks after a bit. I'm surprised at his question.

"Umm… I don't know. My dad taught me a lot, I guess." I say. "Mem and I have been friends since we were five years old, and we became partners when we were nine. I guess we had a lot of time to practice this kind of stuff..." I look at Mem. She has her eyes closed and is smiling. We're both fourteen now. I guess that's why we're apparently so good, a lot of time together.

"Oh. Yeah, Maka and I haven't known each other as long as you two." Soul says. He looks at me. I put my hands in my pockets and cross my legs. "You and Maka were pretty powerful, too. And from what I've heard, you two are amazing when you use soul resonance." I say. He shrugs. "Yeah, but that didn't really help since we weren't allowed to use it." He says.

"It was still pretty hard to beat you. We only won because she didn't see us up in that tree." Mem points out. I nod. "Using a bow and arrow isn't as effective when you're in actual combat. It works well if you're target doesn't know you're there. That way, you can get them in one or two shots. If you're up close, then you can't get a good aim without them attacking." She explains.

We talk until students start to file out of Stein's classroom. We wait until everyone's out and walk to our usual seats in the back. I hope we're not doing another dissection lab today. I hate dissections. And Professor Stein creeps me out. I think about Mem and her fear of Sid. I guess zombies are as scary to her as creepy mad scientists are to me.

After a bit, Kid, Liz and Patty walk in the class and sit next to us. "Hey, guys." I say as they sit down. "Where's Maka?" Kid says.

"She's at the nurse." Soul tells him. "Why? What happened?" Liz asks. Patty seems to be busy playing with what looks like a rubix cube. I guess it's a good way to keep her occupied. "We were fighting in Sid's class and Ginger shot an arrow into her side. She's fine, though." Mem adds when she sees their looks of concern.

"Nice. So why were you fighting?" Liz says. "We were working on combat without using soul resonance." I explain. Kid smiles. "You must be pretty good to win against Maka and Soul. They took down the kishin, after all." He says to me. I nod. "Yeah, I heard about that." I say. I see Soul sit up a little taller when Kid says that.

"But congrats on your win, anyway." Liz says. I nod. "Definitely." I say. Soul leans forward so they can see him from behind Mem and I. "I'm right here, you know," He says. I laugh. "Oh, hey Soul! Didn't see you there!" I say jokingly. He sits back in his seat.

"So how was your guys' day?" I ask them. "Not nearly as exciting as yours, I'm sure." Kid says. "Probably not," Mem says.

After all our classes, we head down where the assignments are posted before we head home. When we get there, Mem and I start to examine the various assignments. "What do you think? Should we stick to the easy ones or should we try a more advanced opponent?" She asks.

"I don't know. Do you think we're ready?" I ask her. She looks up at the board. "Well, everyone's been saying that we're really good, plus we beat the 'All Powerful Maka and Soul,' so I guess so." She says with air quotes. I snort. "All Powerful Maka and Soul?" I ask. She shrugs. "Everyone we've told has said that they must have been hard to beat, plus they did defeat the kishin." She points out.

I think about it. They are pretty powerful. I guess we were pretty lucky to beat them. "Yeah, I guess we should try a harder one. Which do you think we should take?" I say finally.

"How about this one? It seems like a good one to start out with." She says, pointing to a mission near the bottom of the board. It says 'The Magic Man' for the name. "That one? Why do they always have weird names?" I say. It says he's able to use magic, but he isn't a full witch. Or would he be a wizard?

He's definitely going to be a hard one. But he only has a few moves, so he'd be easier to beat than an actual witch. "I noticed that too. But still, what do you think?" She says, turning back towards me. "Yeah, I guess he would be easier defeat than other hard assignments. So sure. Why not." I say. She nods.

"Then we'll go next Friday. It says that by then he'll be in… England?" She says, running her finger along the note card with the information on him. "Sounds fun. I've always wanted to see Big Ben." I say. Mem laughs. "And I kind of want to see if I can make one of those soldier guys with the funny hats laugh." She says. I'm about to write the address in my planner, when Liz drags me away from the board.

"Finally. You guys were taking forever to pick one." She says. Patty giggles. "What do you want?" I ask, annoyed. "Don't seem so surprised. I want to ask you about Soul." She says. I roll my eyes. "Really? Maka was bugging me about that this morning." I say. She sits me down on a bench in the hallway.

"Hey, Mem! Get over here!" Liz calls. Mem too? She's taking this too seriously. "Yeah? What's up?" Mem asks when she gets over here. "I need you here in case Ginger doesn't tell us stuff." Liz says. "You guys are seriously going through with this, aren't you?" I ask her. She nods. "Duh. It'll give me something to do for a while." She says.

"What do you need to know?" I say with a sigh. I'm not getting out of this, so I might as well play along. Mem sits on the other side of me. "Okay, I have a list here somewhere… Ah!" She says, reaching into her back pocket. She pulls out a crumpled up paper and flattens it out on her thigh.

"First, have you and Soul ever been alone together?" She asks. I think of our piano lessons. I take a while to answer, so she looks to Mem. "Oh. So that's what this is about. Umm, I don't know. Well, there was that one time she went to give him this dish thing and she didn't come back for a while. She's been hanging out with him every Saturday since then." Mem says.

"Ah, so you've already been going on dates? That'll make it easier to get you two together. What did you do?" She asks. I think of whether I should tell the truth. I guess there's not much I can do. I let out a deep breath.

"We go to this piano shop owned by this guy I know. I've been giving him piano lessons." I tell her. She nods. "Why? Is he bad? I've heard him play, and I thought he was amazing." She says. Does he play for everyone?

"Well, he only knows this one song and the first time he played for me-" I stop myself. Was I really about to tell them about what happened? I can't. They can't know about that. That's between me and Soul.

"Well? What happened?" Liz says, tapping her foot. "He, umm… He said he wanted to… uh… learn some new stuff, so I said I would give him lessons every Saturday." I finish. _Phew, that was close. _ I think.

"Oh. Got it. So you guys are going this Saturday, too?" She says, twirling her hair around her ring finger. I nod. "Fun. Do you mind if we tag along? Like Maka and I? When she gets better?" She asks. I'm surprised she would want to come with us. "Really? Don't you think it would kinda kill the mood or whatever?" I say, thinking of ways I could keep her away from the piano shop.

"I don't know. Well, I guess you're right… We could watch in secret like they do in the movies!" She says. Patty jumps up. "Yeah! We could be like ninjas or something! Like, we could hang from the ceiling and you guys wouldn't even know we were there! And we could use our ninja powers!" She says, pulling her white leather jacket up so it covers her nose and mouth and pulling her hat down above her eyes.

"Patty, I don't think ninjas have special powers. They're just like, really quiet and secretive." Liz says, sitting Patty down. "Here, play with your rubix cube." She says, handing her the colorful cube from before. Patty eyes the cube. "We meet again, cube of rubix! I WILL conquer you!" She says, sitting down and fiddling with the cube.

"I don't think you should come, though." I say to Liz when she turns back to me. "Aw, please? He won't even know we're there!" She says with bambi eyes. I shake my head.

"No. It's a bad idea. You shouldn't meddle with other people's love lives, anyway. You're lucky I'm even letting you know all this stuff. Just drop it. If Soul and I want to be together, we will. But that's the _only _way we will. Okay?" I say, standing up and pulling my shirt down so it's stretched below my waist.

"Wait for me, Ginge!" Mem calls, running after me. She slows down when she catches up. "Geez, you got pretty harsh at the end there.

"I meant to. I meant what I said and I said what I meant. That's all I want to say about it, okay?" I tell her, rounding the corner and heading to the front entrance. She stops walking after I say that. I know she's confused. I'm not usually this stern.

When I get home, I start to make dinner. I eat quickly and leave the rest for Mem. I change into my pajamas and go to sleep. I really hope Liz and Maka don't show up at the shop tomorrow. It might make Soul angry with me.

The next morning, I wake up and brush my teeth and hair. I put on a pair of jeans and a green off-the-shoulder shirt with my sneakers and gray knit beanie.

I make myself breakfast and put on my coat and gloves. On my way out, I grab my bag and let the door shut behind me. I hope Mem's not angry with me for yesterday. She tends to get mad for stuff like that. Oh, well. I silently pray for the fourteenth time that it's only going to be Soul and me at the shop today.

I find myself running down the street to the old brick building. As I get closer, I start to slow down. I see Soul waiting for me out front. I must be late; I usually get here before him. I should have checked the clock before I left.

"Hey, Soul!" I say cheerfully when he sees me. "Hey," he says, shivering like always. "Why don't you wear warmer clothes? It seems like you're always freezing." I say, unlocking the door and pushing it open.

"Morning, Phil!" I call into the quiet shop. "Hey, Ginger!" Phil yells from one of the back rooms. He walks out polishing a looks like a pedal, most likely for one of the many pianos he fixes every day. "How's it going, Soul?" He asks, putting it behind the counter in the front of the shop.

"Good. You?" Soul says, waving. Phil nods. "Great, actually. Guess who just sold ten pianos to a up and coming concert hall?" He says, grinning and holding out his arms. "Phil, that's awesome!" I say, giving him a bear hug. He lifts me up and squeezes me so much I can barely breathe. But I don't mind.

"I know, right! The manager came and ordered them yesterday! I thought you would like to know," He says, putting me back down. "Of course I would!" I say. "That's like, thousands of dollars! What are you going to do with that much money?" I ask him. He shrugs.

"I don't know, but it's definitely going to be something big!" He slaps Soul a high five and walks back into his office. "Well, you kiddies have fun!" He says. "We will!" I call to him.

I let Soul into Gene's room and he sits down at the piano. "What are you going to teach me today?" He asks. I take off my coat and hang it on the doorknob. Sitting down, I reach into my bag and pull out some sheet music. I hand it to Soul and let my bag drop to the floor.

"I wanted to teach you another song I wrote today. I even wrote it down on paper this time." I tell him. He nods. "Cool." As he flips through the music, I suddenly get mad at God. He didn't listen to any of the prayers I sent his way.

The small window in the back lets me see Liz and Patty squishing Maka in between them so they can all see inside. Maka catches my eye. "Sorry!" She mouths. I look back at Soul. He doesn't seem to notice. I walk over to the window. "Kind of bright in here, don't you think? Heh heh?" I say, pulling down the shades. He looks at me and shrugs.

He places the sheets in the music holder. I sit next to him and flip it to the first page. "Okay, so the first few bars are like this…" I say, playing the intro to the piece. He watches my fingers closely. After I finish, I take his hands and place them in the correct position on the keyboard. "Now you try," I say, pushing the music farther down the holder so he can see it easier.

His playing is rough at first, but after some readjustments and a little constructive criticism it's beautiful as always. The way he plays, it's like nothing else I've ever heard. I love it. He's such a twisted, confusing guy. But in a good way. I like that about him.

"Awesome, Soul. Just awesome. Soon you'll be able to play new pieces all on your own!" I tell him, putting the music back in my bag. He shrugs. "I don't know, I actually like you teaching me…" He says. I look at him. He's smiling. I smile back. We sit there for a second, me smiling and him smiling back. He has a nice smile.

It happens so quickly; I have no way to stop it. Before I realize what's going on, we're leaning towards each other, our eyes closed. Our lips are almost touching when Phil barges in, the door swinging inward. Soul and I open our eyes and separate so quickly he almost falls off the bench. I would laugh, but for some reason I can't.

"Hey, do you guys want some… Oh, am I interrupting?" He says, holding a tray with three mugs of hot chocolate on it. I feel like I've been drinking too much cocoa lately.

"Umm, no! Actually, I was just… Umm…" Soul says quickly. I blush and look at my lap. I hear window in the back shut quickly. _Damn! They saw that?!_ I think. I get up and grab my bag. "He was leaving. Right, Soul?" I say, looking at him. He sees my pleading eyes and nods. "Yeah. See ya, Ginger!" He says, pushing past Phil and walking out the door.

"Bye," I say softly. I take my coat, slip it on, and follow him out. "Ginger, wait!" Phil calls after me. I walk out the front door. I walk towards the dorms, hoping not to run into Liz, Patty and Maka on my way back. I see Soul up ahead of me, his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets. He looks back at me. I wave. He smiles, then turns around and walks faster.

I sigh. This didn't go as well as I wanted it to. I'm never praying for something ever again.

I'm so caught up in thought that I don't realize it when Soul stops and waits for me. I almost run into him. "Hey, I'm sorry about that… I didn't even realize-" He starts, but I interrupt him. "No, it's fine. I didn't either." I say. We stand there for what seems like forever.

"Look, Ginger, I really, really like you. You're insanely cool," He says. I brace myself. He's probably going to say that even though he likes me, we should just stay friends.

"And I don't want us to keep running from each other. Please, say you feel the same way." He finishes. I'm taken aback. I close my eyes. "Soul, I…" I look up at him. He's smiling. I smile back. "I do. I really like you too." I say. He leans in. This time I can control it.

When we kiss, it feels like electricity is flowing through my body. Mem was right. He is my perfect other half. Right now, I don't care if Liz and Maka are watching. All I care about is Soul. I wrap my arms around him. I realize that I do love him. And everything about him. He pulls back. I smile. He smiles back.

We walk back to the dorms, hand in hand. I change my mind. From now on, I will pray for everything I really want. I know that even if exactly what I want doesn't happen, it will still turn out amazing.

**AN: Tada! So the perfect couple finally realize their love for each other! Isn't it beautiful?**

**Maka: Yes! Liz and I succeeded!**

**Ginger: You guys didn't do anything!**

**Maka: But our goal was fulfilled!**

**Kid: This was such a strange chapter to appear in the author's note for the first time...**

**Soul: Wait, let me get this straight; You and Liz were spying on us the whole time?!**

**Maka: Heh heh...**

**Soul: Why the hell were you trying to get us together?! I'm not saying I didn't want us to be together, but you didn't have to meddle!**

**Ginger: Exactly my point!**

**Maka: I'm sorry! You guys were just so great together that it was hard not to!**

**Ginger: You guys are so frustrating!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hiya guys! Okay, so I know we were supposed to face the Magic Man this chapter, but I couldn't stand not posting for so long. Any-hoo, I'M BAAAACCKK! NC was so fun, but I hated being away from you guys so long. I had so many ideas that I spent six hours on the computer typing them up when I got home!**

**Maka: Welcome back to Death City, Ginger!**

**Ginger: Thanks! I missed everyone so much, though.**

**Mem: Aww, you really mean that?**

**Ginger: Yes, I do!**

**Soul: I'm just glad you're back. We've been gone for two whole weeks! TWO WEEKS WE WERE GONE, GINGER!**

**Ginger: Yeesh! I'm sorry, guys!**

**Kid: You could have at least started typing the story...**

**Ginger: I DIDN'T HAVE A COMPUTER, OKAY? LEAVE ME ALONE!**

**Soul: Geez...**

The next few weeks pass by really fast. Mem and I are on our thirtieth soul. It's December now, but it's not as cold as you'd think. Nothing very out of the ordinary happens. Until today, that is.

I walk into Steins classroom and sit down. Class goes like it usually does, Stein doing a dissection lab, me trying my best not to throw up, Mem making fun of me for it. But then, when class is about to end, a girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes walks in along with a guy with dark brown hair that falls over his.

She says something to Stein and rolls her eyes when the guy says something to her. Not to be mean or anything, but she looks like a brat. Stein quiets the class and introduces her as Crystal. The guys name is Alex. They sit two rows below us.

"Who's she?" Mem whispers. I look at her. Her clothes are all blue, a light blue sweater and light blue denim pants to match. Her shoes are a dark blue though. From what I can see, they look like converse. The guy, Alex, is wearing all black with bright white sneakers. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" I whisper back. She shrugs.

After class, Crystal and Alex are walking out of the classroom when I intercept them at the door, Mem standing behind me, her arms crossed. "Hi! You must be new here!" I say in the most cheerful voice I can muster. She stares at me, not saying a word. I try again. "My name's Ginger, and this is my partner, Mem. We'd be happy to show you around!" I say, a giant smile plastered on my face.

She just twirls her hair around her pointer finger, Alex standing behind her. He nudges her with his foot. She sighs and lets her hair fall. "Whatever. I'm Crystal, and this is Alex, in case you didn't get it the first time." She says. Alex waves. "Sup?" He asks. I look at Mem. She's staring at him, her cheeks tinted red.

"Well, it's been… nice… meeting you. See ya." She says, bumping her shoulder to mine as she walks past. Alex follows, mouthing the word, "Sorry," as he passes us. I narrow my eyes at her as she sashays away.

"Well, then." I say to Mem, not taking my eyes off of her. She bumps her elbow to my side. "You okay, Ginger?" She asks. I nod slowly. "Yeah. I'm fine." I say.

I drag Mem out into the hall and catch up with Crystal. I'm not giving up just yet. I open my mouth to say something, but she just looks at me. "I don't like you. Now piss off, and go pluck your eyebrows while you're at it." She says. My hand flies to my light red eyebrows. Mem's mouth falls open. Crystal pushes past me and walks down the hall. I feel my right eye twitch.

"This. Is. War." I say, storming down the hall towards my next class.

Soul and Maka are already there when we arrive. I sit down beside Soul and cross my arms, devising a plan to totally humiliate that girl. I could trip her into a mud puddle. Or I could rig the sprinklers outside her dorm to go off when she steps on the lawn. No, I'd definitely get in trouble for that. Or maybe I could-

"You okay, Ginger?" Soul asks, interrupting my scheming. I nod without looking at him. "Just peachy." I say through clenched teeth. Him and Maka stare at me. Mem explains what happened.

"Really? That's why you're so ticked off?" Maka asks. Mem nods. "This always happens when people do that sort of thing." She says. Maka shrugs. Soul looks at me. "Do you need something?" I ask, annoyed. He shakes his head and turns away.

I don't know why I'm so mad, actually. Maybe it was the eyebrow comment? No, that can't be it. I'm usually cool in situations like this. Whatever it is, I can't let it get to me. I have to keep a level head.

But in the end, Mem and I both know; that bitch is going down. Hard.

I don't see Crystal or Alex for the rest of the day. It goes pretty smoothly, considering how much I want to squish Crystal's head like a bug.

The next day, we don't have school, so we make a plan to meet Maka, Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki at the basketball court. I make sure to pluck my eyebrows before we leave. When Mem and I get there, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki are already shooting, with Maka sitting on a bench reading.

"Hey!" I say to them. "Sup, Ginger?" Soul asks while Tsubaki waves. Black Star shoots the ball towards the basket. It bounces off the backboard and misses the net, rolling to my feet. I put my sneaker on the ball to stop it, roll it back towards my foot and slide my toe underneath it, pulling it up into the air so I can catch it. I dribble up to the three-point line and shoot it. It goes in with out touching the net.

Black Star frowns while Soul and Mem laugh. I smile. "How does three on three sound?" I ask, retrieving the ball from below the net. They nod. I look at Maka. "Hey, bookworm! Get your butt over here!" I shout at her. She looks up at me, then back down at her book. "But I'm no good at this game," She says, flipping a page.

"Then we'll teach you! Now come on!" Mem says. Maka grumbles and folds a corner in her book. She sets it down and walks over to the court. "You can be on our team." I tell her. She nods and stands by the net.

"Okay then, you guys can get the ball first." Soul says. I check the ball with him, then pass it to Mem. She dribbles towards the hoop, but passes it to me at the last second. I fake left, but then go right when Soul follows. I throw the ball over the hoop to Maka. She holds it in her hands, obviously confused.

"I'm open!" Mem calls to her. She passes it with both hands, but it's moving too slow and Soul grabs it out of the air and passes to Black Star. He runs up and dunks it, hanging from the hoop and laughing like and idiot with his legs kicking in five different directions at the same time.

"Oh, cut it out, Black Star! The game just started!" I shout at him. He stops suddenly, narrowing his eyes at me, and drops to the ground. After I check the ball with Soul, I pass it to Mem and she shoots a three-pointer. It hits off the backboard into the net.

Mem laughs. "How'd ya like them apples, huh?" She says, smirking at him. Black Star crosses his arms and sticks his tongue out at her. I snicker.

After a few more rounds, Mem, Maka and I are ahead by sixteen points. "Ready to give up yet?" I ask, grinning at Black Star, Soul, and Tsubaki. Soul laughs and checks the ball with me. "Not just yet," He says as I bounce it back to him. "I still don't get why you're supposed to do that…" Maka says. I laugh.

"Ugh, you again?" I hear a voice behind me say. I turn around to see Crystal and Alex, standing at the other end of the court. Soul holds the ball in between his arm and his hip. Mem walks over to me and grabs my hand, squeezing as if to say, "She's not worth the effort," to me, but I don't care. In war, you do what you need to stay alive.

"I have a name you know," I snap. She smiles. "Not a very good one if you ask me. What, did your parents name you after their favorite cookie, Gingerbread?" She looks at her nails. I take a step toward her, Mem holding my hand even tighter.

"Oh, like you're one to talk! I bet your mom and dad just named after how much those fake teeth are worth. Each." I say, grinning as her smile fades. She scowls and twirls her hair. "At least my teeth aren't yellow." She says. I laugh. I have the whitest teeth out of my whole family, plus Mem. "You wish, blondie." I say, grinning so my teeth are showing and shining. She looks me up and down, searching for another insult to throw at me.

"And why do you insist on wearing a shirt as ah-dorable as that one with your flat chest, Mrs. Tiny tits?" She asks. I look at my chest, which is pretty full if you ask me. "Nice try. Got anything else?" I ask her. Her cheeks turn red as she clenches her fist. Soul bounces the ball to Black Star and walks up behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. He looks back and forth between the two of us.

"Oh, I could do this all day!" She says. I smirk. "Oh, can you? Please tell me!" I mock plead. She picks at her nails. "Okay, if you say so. Hmm, lets see, where should I start? Your hair's stringy, your face looks like the Himalayas, Mount Ever-zit included, plus your arms are way too hairy and so are your legs. Oh, and who's your boyfriend?" She says, looking at Soul. "Go get a haircut, hippie!" She says to him.

Soul's hand runs through his hair nervously. That was the last straw.

"Look here, sugar queen! You get your skinny ass the hell out of here and I won't mess up your Barbie face!" I tell her. Mem squeezes my hand even harder. If she weren't holding me back, that girl would have a permanent fist mark on her face. Crystal frowns, her nails digging into her hand. I grin.

"Whatever. Come on Alex," She says, turning around and storms out of the basketball court. Alex looks at us, shrugs, then runs after her. I turn back around and put my hands on my hips. Everyone but Mem looks at me funny.

"What?" I ask them. They look at each other, then back at me.

"What was that about?" Black Star asks. I look at him like it's the most obvious thing in the world. I shake my head. "Nothing. Can we get on with the game now?" I ask, swiping my bangs out of my eyes. He shrugs and passes the ball to Tsubaki. She dribbles, and then passes it to Soul.

He runs toward the hoop, but I swipe the ball out of his hands and pass it between my legs to Maka, who holds it, still confused. Mem runs up from behind her and grabs it out of her hands. She dribbles up and tosses it in the hoop. Two points.

After a while of shooting, it starts to get late so we all head home. When Maka, Soul, Mem and I get to our floor, Maka walks into her dorm. I'm about to follow Mem into ours, when Soul pulls me over.

"Hey. You seemed pretty pissed off about that girl earlier." He says. I sigh. "Yeah. What's you're point?" I ask him. He puts his hand on my shoulder. "Don't let her get you all hyped up like that. She's just trying to get to you. And you're letting her." He says, looking me in the eye. I nod. "Sorry." I say to him, looking down at my feet.

He picks my chin up and smiles. "Ginger? You're not convincing me." He says. I smile back. "Okay, okay. I won't let her get to me. I promise." I say. He leans in and kisses me. Our eyes are closed.

"Awww! Little scythey boy's got a girlfriend!" Someone says from down the hall. Our eyes shoot open and we separate to see Blair in cat form, a pan with what looks like burnt fish floating next to her. I blush and dart into my apartment. "See ya, Soul!" I say without looking at him. The door shuts behind me. I slide down the door, my back against it. I sit there for a while, but then I rush into my room and grab my guitar.

_I want to be the one for you_

_It won't stick in my mind_

_How much you love me too, _I sing, strumming chords with my lucky guitar pick.

_So please remind me now,_

_Cause I'm falling to pieces_

_And when you hold me in your arms_

_The waves inside me rush_

_Down to my fingertips_

_If you were to let me go, now_

_I would fall to pieces_

I sigh and fall back on my bed, guitar in hand. It's amazing how a single person can make me feel this amazing. I curl up in my bed and smile. Mem walks in after a while. "Time for dinner, girly. Hey, what's got you so happy?" She says. I shake my head, still smiling.

"Oh, nothing!" I say in a sing-songy voice. I float into the kitchen and sit down at the table.

"Hey, Mem? Do you think we could get a pet? I think that would be just wonderful!" I say to her. Her eyes widen. "What've you been smoking?" She says. I giggle. You know what? Screw Crystal. I have Soul and that's all that matters.

**AN: So how do you guys like the new OCs? I hope you love them as much as I do! Oh, do any of you remember Mali? Well, Crystal is supposed to be her character, but don't worry. Mali's definitely less bitchy. Alex isn't based off of anyone, really.**

**Kid: Aww, look at the happy couple!**

**Soul: Do I really need a haircut?**

**Ginger: No! I think your hair's adorable!**

**Soul: You do?**

**Ginger: Of course!**

**Mem: Oh, barf!**

**Ginger: What?**

**Mem: You two!**

**Ginger: I wasn't the one making googley-eyes at Alex!**

**Mem: I had no choice in this!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hiya guys! I finally got the new chapter from Memory, so it should be coming up soon. I know it's all out of order, please bear with us while we try to sort this out! I think that's all I wanted to say... Well, I can't think of anything for the characters to say, so I'm just gonna have them sing the theme song for you guys! ;)**

**Kid: Sounds fun to me!**

**Mem: Sure. Why not.**

**Soul: Aww, do I have to? It's not cool!**

**Ginger: Come on, Soul!**

**Maka: Please?**

**Soul: ... **

**Maka and Ginger: *Bambi eyes***

**Soul: Fine! I'll do it!**

**Maka: YAY!**

**Maka and Ginger: I'M FALLING DOWN INTO MY SHADOW!**

**Kid: IKI WO HISOOOMETEEE!**

**Soul: *Quietly* Matteiru deadly night...**

**Mem and Kid: DON'T SCARY! KIMI GA NOZOOOMEBA!**

**Maka: KABACHA NO BASHA MO!**

**Mem and Soul: SONO ME NI UTSUSERU KARA! *Eye roll from Soul***

**Maka and Kid: SEE YOU IN YOUR DREAMS, YEAH BABY!**

**Ginger: KOWAAAIII YUME! DA TOOOO SHITEEEEMOOOO! **

**All but Soul: FAIRY BLUE KIMI NO TAME NI! HOSHI WO KUDAKI!**

**Soul and Kid: KAZARITSUKETA! *Soul still quiet***

**Ginger, Mem and Maka: BLACK PAAAPER MOON!**

**Soul and Kid: *Kid's arm around Soul's shoulder* SHINJITE KURETA NARA!**

**Ginger and Kid: WHEN YOU'RE LOST HEEEEERE I AAM! **

**Maka and Mem: FOREVER WITH YOUR SOOOOUUL! *All point to Soul, who's arms are crossed***

**Maka: MIAGEREBA KAGAYAKU!**

**All: TSUKI NO YOUNIIIIIIIII! **

**Guitar solo from Mem and Ginger: NAIR NE-NAIR NAIR NAIR NAAAIIIR NAAIIR NAAAIIR! NAAAIIIRR NAAIIR, NAAAIIR NAAAAAAAIIIRR! *jazz hands!***

I wake up on Saturday, yawn, and hop out of my bed. I change and grab my bag. I check the calendar on my way out. Wow, only two days until my birthday! I put on my coat and earmuffs and walk out the door. I think I'll teach Soul a Paramore song today. Maybe Fences? I'll figure it out when I get there.

I make my way to the piano shop, brainstorming my favorite Paramore songs. Wait! I got it! Monster! It's perfect! And the piano cover is beautiful, too!

Soul is waiting for me outside, but surprisingly enough, he's not shivering. I smile to my self. "Hey! What's up?" I ask when I get close. He waves. "Nothing much. Not cold for once, if that counts." He says. I unlock the door and walk in. I greet Phil and walk back to Gene's room. I make sure to lock the window this time.

I sit down at the piano bench next to Soul. "So today I was thinking we could play a song by my favorite band, Paramore. Sound good to you?" I ask him. He nods. "I think I've heard of them. What song?" He asks me, taking his hands out of his pockets and resting them on the keys. "It's called Monster." I reply.

I play the first few bars. Soul copies me. We do that until he knows it backwards and forwards. I applaud while he bows. We sit there for a bit.

"So, Paranormal, it's a band right?" He asks me, breaking the silence. "Paramore. And yes, it is. The lead singer's name is Haley Williams." I answer, correcting him. He nods. "So I'm guessing there are words to it?" He asks again. I nod. "Well, can I hear them?" He says. I nod again and reach for my iPod, but he grabs my hand to stop me.

"I mean, Maka said you were a pretty good singer, too. Could you sing them?" He says. I blush. "Umm, yeah. Sure." I say, putting my hands on the keys. I take a deep breath.

The piano sings the opening chords, just like I'm about to sing. I close my eyes and take another breath.

"_You were my conscience," _I sing softly. This song is really close to my heart. I've rehearsed it a billion times. I know exactly what to sing and how to sing it.

"_So silent now you're like water_

_And we started drowning_

_Not like we'd sink any farther_

_But I let my heart go,_

_It's somewhere down at the bottom_

_But I'll get a new one_

_Come back from the hope that you've stolen"_

I stop for a second. I look at the keys, then close my eyes again. I feel Soul by my side and smile. I inhale.

_"I'll stop the whole world,_

_I'll stop the whole world_

_From turning into a monster_

_And eating us alive_

_Don't you ever wonder,_

_How we survive?_

_Well now that you're gone,_

_The world_

_Is ours_

_I'm only human,_

_I've got a skeleton in me_

_But I'm not the villain,_

_Despite what you're always preaching_

_Call me a traitor,_

_I'm just collecting your victims_

_And they're getting stronger_

_I hear them calling_

_They're calling!_

_I'll stop the whole world,_

_I'll stop the whole world!_

_From turning into a monster_

_And eating us alive_

_Don't you ever wonder,_

_How we survive?_

_Well, now that you're gone, the world_

_Is ours!_

_Well you thought of straight solutions_

_That I liked attention!_

_And not always knowing the answers_

_You're gonna lose it!_

_You're gonna lose it!" _I belt out, my fingers no longer playing the music. I hold it for a while, my voice sounding as smooth as butter. I see Soul's jaw drop out of the corner of my eye, obviously stunned at my vocal range. I've never actually been able to hit that note like this until now; I'm pretty stunned myself. I cut it off, my breath deeper. I held it for a while. Then I smile at Soul and take yet another deep breath.

"_I'll stop the whole world_

_I'll stop the whole world!_

_From turning into a monster,_

_And eating us alive_

_Don't you ever wonder,_

_How we survive?_

_Well now that you're gone,_

_The world…" _I sing slowly. I close my eyes.

"_Is ours._" I finish. Soul stares at me. I stare back. "I… That was… amazing, Ginger," He says after a minute. I blush, tucking my hair behind my ear. He smiles at me.

We walk out of the piano shop. When I get back to the dorms, I kiss Soul goodbye and walk in to our small apartment. I make myself some late breakfast as Mem walks out of her room. She has something behind her back and she's smiling from ear to ear. I raise an eyebrow at her while I flip my pancakes in the pan.

"What's that?" I ask her. She slides into the kitchen, keeping her back facing away from me the whole time. "Oh, nothing…" She says, trying to hide her smile. I take the pan off the stove and try to peek behind her back. She won't let me, though.

"Spit it out, Mem!" I say, my hands on my hips. She sighs. "Well, you're no fun. Close your eyes!" She says. I squeeze my eyelids shut and hold my breath, hoping Mem didn't do something completely totally stupid.

"Okay, open!" She says after a few seconds. I open my eyes and see her holding something small and furry. It squirms around so I can see its face.

"OMIGLOB, MEM! YOU DIDN'T!" I say, taking the little fur ball out of her hands. She nods. "Yep! Happy early birthday, Ginge!" She says. I squeal, holding the puppy up to my face. Its eyes are bright blue and its tongue is hanging out, it's tail wagging in excitement. Wait, HIS tail wagging in excitement, I confirm after checking.

I sit on the floor with him. "What's his name? And what kind of dog is he?" I ask her. She thinks for a bit. "Umm… I think a King Charles Spaniel." She says. I look back at him. He's walking around my lap, licking my hand.

"What's his name?" I ask again. She smiles. "That's for you to decide." She replies. I hold him up to eye level as he squirms in my grasp, trying to reach his tongue down to my wrist. "Hmmm…" I say, thinking. I look at his fur. It's white with various light brown blotches and one over his right eye. Maybe Spot or something? No, that's stupid. Aha! I got it!

"Ollie. His name can be Ollie!" I say. She shrugs. "If that's what you want it to be," She says, walking back into her room. "You two have fun. Just try not to break any of my stuff." She adds. I laugh. "I'm not making any promises!" I call after her. Her door shuts behind her and I look back at Ollie. He's sniffing the trashcan. I pick him up.

"We need to go shopping!" I say after a bit of looking at him. I hold him in my arms and take my bag. Maybe Maka would like to come with me? I'll have to ask. I put Ollie in the messenger bag and scratch his head. "Mem? I'm going out, okay?" I call to her.

"Be back before dinner!" She yells back. I walk out the door and down the hall to Maka and Soul's dorm. I knock on the door. I look down at my fuzzy birthday present. "Be quiet, okay? I want it to be a surprise!" I tell him. Soul opens the door.

"Oh, hey Ginger. What's up?" He says. I wave. I hear an excited yelp come from my bag and hit it semi-hard to get Ollie to be quiet. Soul looks at me funny. I smile nervously. "Is Maka here?" I say, looking past him into the dorm. He nods.

"MAKA!" He yells. I hear a faint, annoyed "Whadaya want?" come from inside their living quarters. "GINGER WANTS YOU! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!" He yells back at Maka. She walks to the door after a few seconds. I wave and she waves back halfheartedly. "Are you busy?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"Great!" I say, dragging her out of the dorm and down the hall. She runs after me. "What? What is it?" She asks. I look around, then open my bag and lift Ollie out of it. She stares at him with interest. I laugh at her expression. She takes him out of my hands and looks him in the eye. He licks her nose and she squeals.

"It's so cute! What's its name?" She asks me. "His name is Ollie. Mem got him for me for my birthday. Isn't he just precious?" I say. She nods and we squeal together.

"WILL YOU TWO SHADDUP ALREADY?!" Soul shouts from down the hall. He slams the door behind him. We look at each other, then the closed door, then back at each other and laugh. "So what do you need me for?" She asks.

"I need to get him dog food and stuff. And I wanted you to come with me." I explain. She nods. "Okey dokey! Let's go!" She says, putting Ollie back in my bag and running down the stairs. I follow her.

After a few hours of shopping, we get back to my dorm and play with Ollie for a bit. Mem joins us after a while. He runs around the room until he's so tired he can't keep his eyes open and passes out on my lap. Maka leaves after that, though. Mem makes dinner and we eat in silence, so as not to wake Ollie. I put my plate in the sink and get my pajamas on. I go to sleep almost instantly.

I yawn, my eyes still closed. I try to turn over in my bed, but something is on my legs, preventing me from moving. I sit up slowly, rubbing my eyes. I open them and shriek.

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU FREAK!" I scream at the boy curled up in my lap, sleeping. His eyes fly open and he screams, falling off my bed. He quickly stands up, scratching his head.

"GET OUT! GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETO OOOOOUUUTT!" I yell, chucking a pillow at him. It hits him in the head. "What? Why are you doing that? Am I… Huh?" He says, confused. I crouch on my bed, ready to pounce if he comes near me again. He turns around and looks into my body mirror. He screams again and jumps on top of me.

"What the heck!? I'm… I'm a person!" He shouts as I shove him off of me. I look down at myself; realizing that I'm only wearing a small tank top and booty shorts. I yank the blanket over my scantily clad body and shriek.

"Please just tell me who the fudge you are and why you're in my room!" I say, sighing. He tilts his head. He has a brown splotch over his right eye and his hair is spikey and light brown. Around his neck is a blue collar with two dog tags on it. He's wearing a white shirt with a light brown jacket and camo-pants. He somehow seems familiar... "Don't you recognize me?" He asks. I shake my head slowly. He slaps himself. "Oh, well of course you don't! Here, give me a sec!" He says.

I rub my eyes. He's no longer a little boy, but a puppy who looks exactly like Ollie. "Whaaa…?" I say, still confused. He transforms back and holds his hands out. "Tada!" He says. I groan and fall back onto my bed. That would explain the splotch.

"So… you're just like Blair…?" I say, my hand on my forehead. He leans over me and nods, grinning like an idiot. "Even though I have no idea who that is, I'm gunna say yes!" He says. I push him away and stand up. I throw on a jacket and drag him out of my room by the collar, slamming the door behind me.

"Hey, sleepy head. What was all that noise about?" Mem says when I walk into the kitchen. I pull Ollie out from behind my back and shove him in her face. I drop him, walk back into my room, get in my bed, and fall back to sleep. I seriously am not in the mood for this right now.

**AN: Yay! More OCs! So do you guys like Ollie? I love him! He's kind of like a character in another book I read once, but not really based off of a specific character. Well, I hope you guys like this chappy! X3**

**Ginger: Wow... did I seriously say 'Omiglob?'**

**Mem: Yeah. I think you did.**

**Soul: Glob?**

**Ginger: It's not nice to say the lord's name in vain...**

**Mem: So she uses that as a substitute occasionally.**

**Soul: Why?**

**Ginger: Cuz I just don't want to, Gosh! *head turn* (Napolean Dynamite reference FTW!)**


	12. Chapter 12 (Part One)

**AN: Hey-hey-hey! Wazzup wazzup wazzaaap? (Hee hee, like my Shinigami impression?) I have the new chapter for you guys! It starts in Mem's POV, by the way. Remember, though, The chapters are still mixed up, so you have to imagine that this one came right after chapter 9. (The one right before I left for NC?)**

**Oh, and all the parts where it's Mem's POV are written by my partner in crime, Memory. The ones with Ginger are me though.**

**Ginger: I'm so excited! This is going to be soo fun!**

**Soul: Whatever helps you sleep at night, Ginge.**

**Ginger: What's that supposed to mean?**

**Mem: I think he means that the Magic Man is going to be pretty hard to beat.**

**Maka: And that "Fun" Isn't really the right word to describe it.**

**Kid: We might not even make it out of there alive.**

**Ginger: Well excuse me for being optimistic...**

I wake up and throw on some cloths. I remember the other day, with Ginger getting so pissed and everything. What's been up with her lately? She's never closed off from me like this. Yeah, I know we were teasing her, but she usually laughs right along with us.

I walk out of my room and am immediately ambushed by our eight-year-old boy-puppy, Ollie. He jumps on me. I try to shove him off, but he has a tight grip on my shirt. "Good morning, Mem! Can you play with meee? Ginger's not here! I need someone to play with! And why do you lock your door when you sleep? I couldn't get in!" He says, finally letting me go. "That's kind of the whole point, Ollie." I tell him. He frowns.

I push him out of my way and start towards the bathroom. "And Gingers off with Soul. Probably sucking each other's faces off, might I add." I say.

I get washed up and head into the kitchen to cook some eggs. While I'm eating, I doodle in my sketchbook. My subconscious takes over and I lose focus over the drawing. Suddenly, I sense something behind me, so I turn. Lord death is in my window. His back is turned to me, and he seems to be trying to calm Kid down, who's currently complaining about something. Patty is laughing and Liz is trying to calm him down along with his father. I mentally sigh. It must be soo cool to be a Shinigami.

"Ahem." I say. Lord death seems to remember why he called and directs his focus on me.

"Ah yes, Mem. Is Ginger there? This would be much easier to tell the both of you at the same time" He says. I shake my head. "Well, you can relay the message. So I heard it through the grapevine that you two are going to face the Magic Man?" He asks. I nod. "You weren't exactly my first choice to go after him. Don't look at me like that!" He says when he notices my facial expression. I wipe the incredulous look off my face. Best not to upset him, especially if I want answers.

"Better." He says. "Now, I had sent in another team, of higher skill, and, well, they never came out. So, I'm sending you and Ginger, along with Maka, Black Star, Kid, and their weapons to stop him. Any questions?"

"OOOH! WHO'S THE FUNNY-LOOKING GUY IN THE MIRROR? CAN HE PLAY WITH ME?" Ollie yells, squishing his face up to the mirror. I run up and push his head down. I sit on top of him. I smile awkwardly as he squirms underneath me.

"Just one. Why did you not send us in the first place?" Bluntness is always a good strategy. Lord Death looks at me for a while, but then he just shrugs and moves on.

"Um, I didn't want any of you hurt. You are some of my best students and…" he trails off and I nod my head. It makes sense. "I am sending Maka and Black Star over now." He says. He turns around to face his son, who has his butt up in the air with Patty and Liz kneeling next to him. "Kid, Liz, and Patty, you guys may take a more... direct route." He says. They look up at him.

There's a weird popping sound and suddenly, Kid, Liz and Patty are in my kitchen. Kid stands awkwardly, tying to act like that scene I just saw in the mirror never happened. Liz takes a peek in my sketchbook, and I finally see what I drew. It was something I thought I'd never see again, something that would never stop haunting me. I snap my book shut. I turn toward them.

"Hey. You guys can sit in the living room. Ginger's on a piano date with Soul right now, so they'll probably get here a little later than the others." I tell them they nod and Liz drags both Kid and Patty to the red couch in our living room.

"Well, hopefully, we won't have to wait for them very long." Liz says as I join them; completely forgetting about the toy rocket I'm sitting on.

As soon as I stand up, Ollie bursts out from underneath me and pretty much attacks Liz.

"YAY! SOMEONE TO PLAY WITH MEEE!" He yells happily. Liz shrieks. "HOLY CRAP! GETITOFF GETITOFF GETITOOOOFF!" She screams as Patty explodes laughing. "OLLIE! SIT, BOY!" I yell at him sternly. He looks at me and quickly sits on the floor in front of me. "Stay." I add. He nods, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I sigh and plop down on the couch next to Patty. She's still giggling like crazy.

"Can you transform now, Ollie?" I ask him. He nods excitedly and in a puff of smoke, he turns into the puppy form of himself. I pick him up and lay him on my lap. He closes his eyes, his tail wagging in excitement.

"Aww!" Liz says, gushing over him. I see a smile creep onto his face, his eyes still closed. Kid looks at the spot over his right eye. He frowns and crosses his arms. "I think he's absolutely disgusting." He says. Liz glares at him. "Like those stripes?" She mumbles. I snicker.

Maka, Black Star, and Tsubaki arrive shortly. Still no Ginger or Soul. We wait for at least an hour before they show up.

"Good. You're finally here. Lets get going." I brush past them and we all head out.

We finally reached London and are standing in front of the Magic Man's lair thing. Black Star seems to hate standing still and he runs in. Left with no choice, we follow. As our group walks down a creepy hallway, there's no sign of the kishin.

Maka starts speaking. "Where is-" Then she's cut off. Huge walls erupt from the ground, splitting our group. I'm completely cut off from Ginger and everyone else. Crap.

_[Ginger's POV]_

I shut my eyes as the walls shoot up from the ground. I open them to see mirrors surrounding me. I see an opening and run out of it. When I go through it, I see a long corridor with various openings on the sides. _It's a maze, _I think. I run down to the first opening. I make my way down it, make a left, and come to a dead end. I run back to try the others.

When I get to the sixth opening, I see Mem a ways down the corridor. "Mem!" I say, running to her. She turns towards me and tilts her head. When I'm close enough to see her face, I gasp. Everything is the same besides her eyes. She has no pupils or anything. Just white.

"Mem…?" I say, my knees getting weak and wobbly. She smiles this creepy smile with razor sharp teeth and melts into a puddle of silvery liquid. I scream and fall to my knees, my head in my hands.

"Who's there?" Someone yells from a few rows over. I put my head up and listen. "Hello?" The voice calls again. Wait, I know that voice!

"Soul!" I yell back to him, jumping to my feet and running to the next corridor. "It's Ginger! Where are you?" I say, stopping and looking around.

"Ginger! Follow my voice!" He yells back at me. After a bit of frantic searching, I finally find him, standing in the middle of two rows. "Soul!" I say, running into his arms. I squeeze him, burying my face in his shoulder. "Thank God I found you!" I say, sobbing. "Are you okay? What happened? I heard you scream," He says. I shake my head.

"It… it was Mem! She was there, but her eyes… and she… MELTED or something and I just- I can't! I want to get the hell out of here!" I say into his chest.  
He pushes me away and looks me in the eye. "Pull it together, Ginger! We have to find the others and leave! Can you sense anyone's soul?" He asks. I wipe my eyes and close them.

"No. Something about these walls is blocking it. I can only sense ours." I say, still searching. I get a flash of blue father down the corridor. It was just a flash, but it was there long enough for me to tell who it was.

"It's Kid! Follow me!" I say, opening my eyes and sprinting down to the hallway he ran into. I see him at the big wall at the end of the dead end, banging his fist against the wall in frustration. "Kid!" Soul shouts when he catches up with me, panting.

Kid turns around and rubs his eyes. He waits there, staring at us like he's waiting for something to happen. After a bit, He shakes his head and runs toward us. "Sorry, I thought you were an illusion." He says when he gets to us. I nod. "Yeah, I saw one of Mem earlier." I say.

"Can we go find the others now?" Soul asks. Kid nods. I close my eyes again. "Nothing. Finding you guys so quickly was a stroke of luck. I'm just glad we don't have to do this alone. I hope everyone's alright…" I say when I open them.

"Then we'll just have to find them the old fashioned way." Kid says. We run out of the dead end, searching every corridor we can find. After a while, we get to a large square opening. The walls are different patterns. There are the mirrors we just came from, a purple and gold swirl, a wooden texture, and one with a purple background and swirling black storm clouds.

"This must be the middle," Soul says, looking around him. I close my eyes again. Maybe if I'm closer, I may be able to get some flashes like I did with Kid. Still nothing.

But I do sense something. And it's not human. I whip around to face a man with dark skin and dread locks. He smiles but doesn't say anything. Neither do we. His clothes are strange, with a purple scarf across his mouth and a long skirt type cloth that goes down to his ankles.

"Who the hell're you supposed to be?" Kid says. The man shakes his head and clicks his tongue. He grabs my collar and lifts me up, then slams me down on the ground. I spit out some blood and stand up. "Well, that's nice of you. But I'll be kicking your ass now if you don't mind." I say, my voice raspy as I run at him, throwing my fist into his stomach. He grunts and then swings his foot at me.

His kick pushes me back a few feet, but I run back at him and jump. Doing a flip, I bring my foot down on his head. He dodges and steps back. "A little help here?!" I yell at Soul and Kid, who are standing there, gaping. They look at me, then each other, then back at me, then back at each other and shrug. They run to my side.

The strange man stares at me when I turn back around to face him. I can't look away. I feel my energy being drained. I stand there until I can't stand anymore. I crumple to the ground in a heap. "Ginger!" Kid yells as Soul rushes to my side. He shakes me a bit. But I can't move.

I see him yell something, but I can't hear him. My eyes close halfway and I stare at him for a second, and then let my head fall to the side and close them all the way. I feel him lifting me up and carrying me somewhere.

I open my mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a faint, "Agh…" Soul props me up against a wall and slaps my face lightly, trying to wake me up. I can't though. I'm dreaming I think, but I can still feel and hear everything around me. And then everything goes black.

**AN: Oh no! More dramatic endings!**

**Ginger: Am I... dead?**

**Mem: I don't think so...**

**Soul: Ginger, if you die I'm going to kill you!**

**Kid: I don't think that would work out very well, Soul.**

**Soul: You get my point!**

**Maka: No, actually we don't.**

**Soul: "-.-**


	13. Chapter 12 (Part Two)

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been really super busy. I'm back now, and with more of our scary maze (oOoOoOoOoOoOh!)**

**Soul: I'm guessing this means you're _not _dead?**

**Ginger: *Shrug* I hope so.**

**Mem: Well, Ginger's gonna torture you guys and make you wait until my POV is done! (muahaha!)**

**Maka: Where am I in this chapter?**

**Mem: I would tell you, but I'm not spoiling anything.**

**Kid: Time for the story!**

"Shut UP, will ya?" I snap at Black Star, who's bragging about himself like always. He scowls at me and crosses his arms. Maka snickers. I look up, and see that it's starting to get dark.

"We should probably get some rest," I suggest. Maka nods. Patty frowns, though. "Aww… but sleep is boooring!" She exclaims. I roll my eyes.

"Then you can have first watch." I say. She nods and sits down, her arms and legs crossed and a look of determination on her face. Maka lies down and closes her eyes. I prepare myself to tell Black Star to shut his trap and get to sleep, but when I look over he's already out cold. I chuckle and lay down, closing my eyes.

I'm in an alley, and I see a younger version of me. I'm sitting in between two trashcans and I'm shivering. A little girl with a white fuzzy hat and a bright pink coat and light blue snow pants walks up to me. The hat mostly covers her hair, but her bangs stick out in the front, glinting red in the light.

It's Ginger. She's saying something, too. "Hey! HEEEYY! YOU, SCARY GOTH GIRL OR WHATEVER!" She shouts into my ear. My old self looks up at her slowly. Little Ginger puts her hands on her hips and bends down so she's in little me's face. Little me just wraps her arms around her legs, which are pulled up against her chest, tighter.

"You don't look so good!" Ginger says loudly. She always was a pretty loud kid. Little me buries her face in her knees. "Do you have a family? I do! I have a mommy and a daddy, and they love me! But I've always wanted a sister! Do you want to be my sissey?" She asks, still speaking loudly.

Little me looks up. Little Ginger smiles. "You can come live with me and everything," She adds, softer now. She holds out her hand, which has a pink mitten on it. Little me slowly puts her hand in Ginger's, and Ginger pulls little me up and out of the alley to her dad. I smile. That was how we met. It's a nice memory, all right. But why that one?

My dream continues, memory after memory inching it's way into my mind. But then I see something strange. It's… a piano. There's someone sitting at it, playing a strange piece. It seems familiar, but I don't know how. I'm standing behind the man playing it. He has a black striped suit on, with a red shirt underneath. His hair is white and spikey-ish.

When the piece is over, he turns around in the seat. "This is who I am," He says. It's Soul! Ginger told me he played piano, but she never told me he was that amazing. But… this isn't one of my memories. Wait! I look down. I'm wearing what Maka usually wears. Aha! This must be one of Maka's memories!

Strange. I get another memory. For this one, I'm in weapon form. Liz is holding me, and we're in a dark alley. She holds me up to what looks like Kid's neck, her hand on the wall behind him. This one must be Patty's. Once this one finishes, I'm up high in the air, standing on what looks like the academy. Tsubaki stands below me, clapping and smiling. My hand, which is also in the air, gives a thumb up. I'm guessing this one's Black Star.

Why, though? I didn't know about these until now. I open my eyes to see Patty, her arms still crossed, leaning against a wall, snoring slightly. I knew she wouldn't last long. I lay her down and take her place. I try to think of what my dream meant.

Well, first I have to figure out what they have in common. For starters, they were all about how each of them met, I think. I'm pretty sure that Liz wouldn't be threatening Kid with Patty unless she didn't know who he was. They were all memories, too. Hmmm… Memory. That's my name. Maybe… I don't know actually.

Maybe it has to do with me? I am Memory after all. "Mem for short," I say quietly to myself. Wait. Maybe I can see people's memories? Ginger's dad did always say I have a special talent. He was going to wait until I was thirteen to tell me though. Ginger has one too, but I don't know if he ever told her.

It might be my special ability. I don't know, it's possible. I can't think of any other explanation for it. Maybe it's when I touch someone? I put my hand on Maka's back softly, so as not to wake her. I close my eyes.

_Yep, I gots it. _I think to myself. I could see a ton of memories from her. I take my hand off of her and try with Black Star and Patty. Same thing. I guess Ginger's dad somehow told me from wherever he is. No, that's stupid. I lean my head back and look up at the stars. After a while of watching them, I check my watch. I've been up for three whole hours.

I crawl over to Maka and shake her awake. "Huh...?" She asks sleepily, sitting up. "It's your turn to take watch. You don't mind, do you? I could always wake Black Star if you…" I start, but she puts her hand up. "That won't be necessary. I don't mind." She says. She sits up and leans against the wall, rubbing her eyes. I lay my head down and fall back asleep.

_[Ginger's POV]_

_[continued from last chapter] _And then everything goes black.

I open my eyes, but instead of seeing Soul, I see my backyard. Mem is leaning against the old oak tree near the fence and my dad is helping me with my stance. But he's… normal. And Mem looks younger. And I'm shorter. "Make sure your feet are shoulder width apart. Your eye should be looking down the arrow, but not to close. If you are too close, you'll get an eyeful of feathers." My dad says. I laugh.

"What if I do?" I ask him. He chuckles. "Well, then Mem here will have to kick ass all by herself." He says. Mem smiles. "Speaking of kicking ass by yourselves, I want to teach you two something. Here, sit." He tells me, sitting down next to Mem and patting the ground beside to him. I plop down and stick my hands in my pockets. "What's up?" I ask.

"If you're ever not able to fight, then Mem will have to be able to fend for herself. Or, if there happens to be another weaponless meister with her, she might have to be able to fight with a different partner, and vice versa for you, Ginger." He says. We nod. "In order to do that, you will need to match soul wavelengths. Now, listen closely." He explains.

"But how were Ginger and I able to be partners so easily? We didn't have to match soul radio-waves or whatever." Mem says after he's done. He smiles. "Wavelengths. When someone doesn't yet have a partner, their soul wavelengths may be matched automatically with someone they share a special bond. For example, you and Ginger are best friends. Plus, Ginger did save your life." He says. Mem and I look at each other. I smile at her and refocus on my dad. He looks at me.

"Your mother and I were matched easily because of our love for each other. This bond can be more than just that, though. It can be admiration or tolerance, or even gratefullness." He says. "If you want to match wavelengths with someone other than each other, having a special bond will make it a lot easier." He says.

Then I open my eyes for real. Soul is yelling at Kid. Kid yells back. I blink. "Soul…" I say. My throat hurts and the words are barely manageable. But they are there, and Soul looks at me, his eyes wide in relief. "Ginger! Are you okay?" He says. I shoot upright, bumping my forehead on his. I clutch my hand to it and he does the same. We laugh.

But why was it that specific dream that I had while I was out? It was a memory of when my dad taught Mem and I to match soul wavelengths. But, why would I need to…?

"That's it!" I say suddenly. Soul looks at me in confusion. "We need to match soul wavelengths!" I say, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him back and forth. Maybe my dad is still watching over me. Maybe he did care, and maybe, just maybe he reminded me of what I'm capable of. I suddenly feel really bad for ending his life. I brush the thought away and put my attention on Soul.

He stops the shaking, and then pulls my hands from his shoulders. "The only time I've ever seen someone match soul wavelengths was Stein, and he did it to defend an attack rather than make his own stronger." He says.

"Yeah, it can do that," I say, looking out at Kid, who's currently standing in this weird Egyptian like pose and dodging an attack. I focus back on Soul. "This is the only way we can get past this guy. Trust me," I say to him, looking him straight in the eye. He nods after a bit.

I close my eyes and search for his soul. I can just barely feel it, but I can't get a good enough grasp on it. "Ugh, it's not working!" I say, grabbing his shoulders and leaning my forehead on his. I can hear him breathing. It's heavy and constant, like he can't get enough air.

Ah! There it is! It's a powerful soul for sure. It's twisted and dark and complicated, but in harmony with itself otherwise. I do exactly what my father told me, exactly how he told it.

My eyes shoot open and I smile at Soul. "It should work now." I say as he smiles back. "Then let's go." He says. We run out to where Kid and the man are fighting. Kid looks at us. "Took you long enough!" He says. I smile. "Yeah, but at least you seem to be doing well," I reply. Soul looks at both of us. "Can we just get this over with?" He asks, clearly annoyed. I nod and hold my hand out to him.

"Alright, then. Let's go, Soul!" I yell at him. He nods. He spins in the air and I grab him and twirl him around like I've seen Maka do a million times before. Kid's jaw drops. I smile and twirl Soul around a bit more, obviously showing off. "Surprised?" I ask, still twirling. He nods, his mouth still hanging open. I stop his twirling, again following after Maka.

But, the thing is, I've never seen Maka drop Soul to the ground, her hands covered in blood.

"Damn it!" I say, falling to my knees. "Ginger! What happened? Are you okay?" Soul says from the scythe lying on the ground in front of me. I cringe and look up. Kid runs over and kneels next to me. He takes my hands in his and examines them as I cringe.

"The cuts are pretty deep. I don't think you can fight, Ginger. Nice try, though. When Black Star used Soul, he couldn't even pick him up." He says, wiping my hands with a handkerchief he pulled out of his shirt pocket. I shake my head.

"No. I can do it." I say, picking the red and black scythe up from the ground. "Agh! Damn…" I exclaim, my legs wobbling for a second. I stand up straight and try again. I look into the eye engraved in Soul's handle and smile. His reflection flashes in the blade and he smiles back. I turn back towards the man and run up to him. I swing Soul as hard as I can.

But he dodges. His scarf wraps around my neck, preventing me from breathing. I drop Soul again, my hands flying to my neck, trying to pry the fabric from my throat. It's not working, so I slip a pocketknife out of my pocket. My hand falls as I run out of air and so does the pocketknife, but Kid runs underneath the cloth, grabbing the knife and cutting the fabric. I fall to the ground, gasping for breath. I stand up and take Soul, running at the man again.

I cut his left arm off and Kid cringes. But the cloth tied around his mouth reaches down to wrap around his stub of an arm. I frown and try again. But he dodges. Kid runs up behind him, stabbing him in the neck with my pocketknife. The man gasps for breath and I cut a piece of cloth off of his and grab it out of the air, tying it around his neck and pulling it tighter and tighter until he's no longer breathing.

He unravels and Soul grabs his soul out of the air and puts it in his mouth. I let my hair fall over my eyes and smile. "Nice job there, Kid. I never knew you were handy with a pocketknife," I say to Kid. He shrugs. "I guess I am." He says nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Liz and Tsubaki run into the big opening from the wooden section. "Ginger! Kid! And wait… is that _Soul _you're using?" Liz asks, pointing at us and tilting her head. I nod and Soul transforms the rest of the way. "Yep. I'll explain later," I say. I look up at the sky. It's a deep orange, so I'm guessing we have about an hour until nightfall.

"We need to find the others. We probably won't find them today, but we have to try. Tsubaki and Liz, you two go with Kid and I'll go with Soul. That way, if we come across any more trouble, we'll be able to fight. Sound good?" I ask. They nod.

"Okay, so Kid has one of my pocketknives. Just cut a chunk out of the wall every time you make a turn, and you should be able to find your way back here easily. There's a clock on the one that you're holding, Kid, so meet back here in an hour. Got it?" I say, whipping another knife out of my pocket and setting my watch for an hour. I stick my hand in the center of our circle. Everyone else smiles and puts their hands in along with mine. "Alrighty, then. Break!' I say, pulling my hand back.

We run in two different directions. I just pray we can find them again.

**AN: Hungry for more? We've been working on this for a while. I'm guessing it'll take up about two more chapters at the most.**

**Mem: This maze thing's starting to get annoying...**

**Ginger: It was your idea!**

**Mem: You could have made it shorter!**

**Ginger: Too bad!**

**Maka: So I AM in this chapter...**

**Kid: I am too!**

**Soul: Does it really matter?**

**Kid and Maka: DUH!**


	14. Chapter 12 (Part three)

**AN: Hey guys! So updates are going to be a little less frequent from now on. I've gotten SUPER super busy all of a sudden. I still have time to write, but I have to do it in secret when ever I have to ytpe something for homework. :T**

**Anyway, I have soem cool news! Ginger (aka me) will be appearing in a new fanfic! Her personality will be more similar to the me in real life, though. The fic, by my bestie Katsumi Koboyashi, will also be including my OTHER bestie Asa Nakamura. We all go to the same school, and we decided that we wanted to write a fanfic together. I will be writing some of it along with Asa, but it will be mostly by Katsumi. Hopefully, you'll be able to see our different writing styles. Oh, and might i add that Ginger will be going out with Soul in TWO different fanfics, so it's OBVI that they were ment for each other! Sorry, no character comm today. I gotta go soon.**

Nothing. We found absolutely NOTHING! Ugh, you'd think that a maze would be easier to get out of than most of the situations we've been in before! But no, this Magic Man guy just had to shove us in here rather than face us himself! This is seriously pissing me off right now!

When we get back, Kid, Liz and Tsubaki are already there, sitting on the ground and talking. Soul and I sit with them. They didn't find anyone either. I look at all of them.

Liz yawns. Tsubaki can barely keep her eyes open. Soul has his head in his hand and his eyelids are slowly floating closed. Kid is lazily fiddling with the stripes in his hair.

"Maybe we should get some sleep?" I suggest. They all sigh and fall to the ground, their eyes closed.

"No, I don't mind taking the first watch." I say grumpily. I stare at the wall across from me for a bit, but then that gets boring so I empty out my pockets. There's my three pocket knifes, a mini-flashlight, a ball of lint, two quarters and a dollar bill, chap stick, a roll of gauze, and a duct tape square. When was the last time I cleaned this thing out? I feel something else, so I look in the inside pocket of my jacket and take out my iPod. I stick in my earbuds and press the play button.

The song is Ignorance by Paramore. One of my favorites. I listen to the intro and hum the lyrics to myself, my foot tapping.

_So I'm a bad person,_

_You don't like me_

_Well I guess I'll make my own way_

_It's a circle_

_A mean cycle_

_I can't excite you anymore_

_Where's your gavel?_

_You're jury?_

_What's my offense this time?_

_Well sentence me to another life_

_Don't wanna hear your sad songs_

_I don't wanna feel your pain_

_When you swear it's all my fault_

_Cause you know we're not the same_

_We're not the same_

_No, we're not _

_The same_

_Yeah, the friends who stuck together_

_We wrote our names in blood_

_But I guess you can't accept that the change is good_

_It's good_

_It's good_

_Well, you treat me just like_

_Another stranger_

_Well, it's nice to meet you sir!_

_I guess I'll go_

_I best be on my way out_

_Well, you treat me just like_

_Another stranger_

_Well, it's nice to meet you sir!_

_I guess I'll go_

_I best be on my way out_

_Ignorance is your new best friend_

_Ignorance is your new best friend_

_This is the best thing_

_That could've happened_

_Any longer and I wouldn't have made it_

_It's not a war, no_

_It's not a rapture_

_I'm just a person, but you can't take it_

_The same tricks that_

_That once fooled me_

_They won't get you anywhere!_

_I'm not the same kid_

_From your memory!_

_Well now I can fend for myself_

_Don't wanna hear your sad songs, _

_I don't wanna hear your pain_

_When you swear it's all my fault_

_Cause you know we're not the same_

_We're not the same_

_No, we're not_

_The same_

_Well, the friends who stuck together_

_We wrote our names in blood_

_But I guess you can't except that the change is good!_

_It's good_

_It's good_

_Well you treat me just like_

_Another stranger, well it's _

_Nice to meet you sir,_

_I guess I'll go_

_I best be on my way out_

_Well, you treat me just like_

_Another stranger_

_Well, it's nice to meet you sir_

_I guess I'll go_

_I best be on my way out_

_Ignorance is your new best friend_

_Ignorance is your new best friend_

_Ignorance is your new best friend_

_Ignorance is your new best friend_

I don't realize I'm singing out loud until I open my eyes and Kid is staring at me. I blush and quickly yank my earbuds out. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up? I didn't mean to annoy you or anything…" I say, shoving it back into my pocket. He shakes his head and smiles.

"No, it was really good. What song is that? I don't think I've heard it before…" He says. I look at him. "Oh. Umm, thanks. It's called Ignorance. The band is Paramore." I say. He shakes his head. "I'm not familiar with their music. Well, night." He says with a yawn. He lies back down and closes his eyes.

I sneak an earbud out of my pocket and into my ear. A new song is on now. It's Bring Me To Life by Evanascence. I love this song, too. I whisper-sing the words to myself, this time making sure to keep it quieter.

I'm about to whisper-sing the second verse, when I hear a strange noise coming from the other side of the wall I'm leaning against. I slowly and quietly take my earbud out of my ear and drop it back into my pocket. I slip out my pocketknife and flick the blade open. I slowly stand up and tiptoe over to the end of the wall.

I'm about to stab whatever the thing is with my knife, but it falls out of my hand and I kick it across the floor as I step. _Damn! _I think. I look in my pocket, but all that's in there is my iPod and headphones. I look over to my pile of junk, but I can't run over to it, because what ever the thing is, it's getting closer. I look down at my feet.

Wait! I got it! I slip my suede rubber-heeled boot off my foot and hold it by the toe. I get to the end of the wall, and take a silent deep breath.

"DIE!" I scream as I whip around and hit what ever it is with my shoe as hard as I possibly can. It has a spikey head and razor sharp teeth and bright red eyes. It yells and grabs its head, falling to the ground.

"God damn it!" It screams. Wait a second…!

"_Soul?!" _ I exclaim, dropping my boot and kneeling next to him. His hand is clutching his head and his eyes are squeezed shut in pain. "Omigosh, I'm so sorry, Soul! I had no idea it was you! Are you alright?" I say, taking his hand off of his head and examining it. I move his hair off of his forehead so I can see where I hit him. It's bleeding and there's a slight bump.

"I'm okay… a little. Holy crap, Ginger… you hit hard…!" He says with a grunt. I laugh nervously and he smiles. I rub his head softly. "I wish I had some ice or something…" I say. Then I remember my bandages. I retrieve my pocketknife and shoe and walk Soul over to the snoring heap of academy students.

I sit him down and take the bandages. I wrap the long strip around his head a few times after wiping it off with the end of my skirt and tuck the end into the gauze wrapped around his head. I run my hand around it and frown. "I'm really sorry." I say quietly. He nods and smiles. "You're fine. Thanks for wrapping it up, anyway." He says just as quiet.

I smile back at him. My hand falls from the bandage to his chin, and I look into his eyes. I lean in and kiss him, still on my hands and knees. He places his hand on the back of my head as if to keep me from pulling back away from him. But I wouldn't pull away for the world. I slowly sit down next to him, my legs resting in his lap. I put my other hand on his chest, and he places his hand on it.

I pull away and smile at him. He smiles back. I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. He puts his arm around me, leaning his head on mine.

"You get next watch," I whisper to him, my eyes still closed. I feel him smile against the top of my head. "I know." He says. I laugh silently and plant a kiss on his cheek. His hand reaches up to it, and he looks at me. But I've already put my head back on his shoulder.

_[Mem's POV]_

"HEEEYY! Wake up, sleepy head! We gotta go somewheeeerree!" I hear someone yell into my ear. I open my eyes and Patty is standing above me, waving her hand in my face. I push it out of the way, sit up and rub my eyes. Maka is looking around while Black Star is standing on the wall, saying something I can't quite hear. I ignore him and stand up. I walk over to Maka.

"So what's the plan?" I ask her. She turns toward me. "Oh, you're awake now. I think we should head towards the center of the maze. That way, we can get a better view of it and we can figure out how to get out of here. What do you think?" She says. I shrug. "I don't really know. I think that's a good start. There's not much else we can do." I say. She nods.

"Let's get these two idiots and get out of here." She says, walking over to Black Star and Patty. They look at her while she says something, then Black Star puts his fists on his hips and laughs. "Of course I can get you out of here! A man as big as me can get out of a stupid maze, Maka! Don't be dumb!" He yells. I roll my eyes and walk towards them.

We look for a while. After confirming that this section is empty, we start to head back to the middle. My strategy is to mark the path with my partly transformed finger arrows. That way, we can tell where we've been. I make a big "X" whenever we turn a corner.

I stop running so I can catch my breath. "Ca... can we… stop… for a minute…?" I say between breaths. Black Star laughs and pats my back. Well, slaps it. "C'mon, Mem! We gotta get outta here! I understand you're not as great and powerful as I am, but you can't be that tired that fast!" He says. I stare at him, annoyed.

He smiles a really goofy smile at me and grabs my shirt, dragging me forward. I squirm and curse at him, but he just keeps laughing. "Umm, Black Star? I don't think you should…" Maka starts, but her warning wasn't fast enough. I crane my neck so I can bite his wrist. Hard.

"AAAHHH! MY HAND! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, BITCH?! YOU BORKE THROUGH THE SKIN!" He screams, dropping me and jumping back. I smile evilly. "Next time, let me down when I say, dumbass." I tell him, standing up and dusting myself off. Patty is laughing like and idiot at us. Maka's finger is still in the air when I walk past her. "Let's go. We have people to find and a kishin to kill." I say, taking the lead and marking an "X" as I turn.

**AN: Ya like?**

**Mem: Blech. Blakck Star's hand tasted horrible.**

**Soul: I can imagine.**

**Ginger: It was pretty funny though.**

**Maka: He kind of deserved it.**

**Kid: He needs to learn boundaries.**

**Mem: That's pretty much why I bit him. Plus, he was choking me a little.**

**Ginger: Well, he'll be avoiding you from now on.**

**Mem: Thank God for that...**

**Black Star: Hey!**


	15. Chapter 12 (Part four)

**AN: 'Sup, guys? How goes it? Final chapter for the maze, it's finally over!**

**Soul: I wonder who's going to get hurt...**

**Kid: What does that mean?**

**Soul: I mean that when ever there's a dramatic part that spans over multiple chapters, someone always ends up getting seriously injured. **

**Mem: NOT ME!**

**Ginger: Yeah, it does seem to end up that way, doesn't it?**

**Maka: It was you once, wasn't it, Soul?**

**Soul: Don't remind me...**

_[Ginger POV]_

I guess I must've fallen asleep, because I wake up, still laying in the same position, my legs on Soul's lap, head on his shoulder, and my hand on his chest. He's still asleep, so I put my hand on his shoulder and shake him awake. He's still out cold, though. I take my legs off his lap and cross them. I move my head off his shoulder and scoot back a foot or two. He falls into my lap, his head resting on my thigh.

I laugh and look around. I'm the only one awake. I mess with Soul's super-thick hair for a bit, braiding and unbraiding it to suppress my boredom. After a few minutes he stretches and yawns. He rubs his eyes, keeping them closed when he takes his hands away. He rolls over in my lap and I try not to laugh.

He puts his hand next to his head on my thigh, but then realizes that it's not his pillow. He keeps his eyes closed as his hand first touches my thigh, then my stomach, then my arm, my shoulder, my neck, and finally my face. He opens his eyes and sees me, my hand clasped over my mouth to keep from exploding with laughter.

"AAAHH!" He yells, shooting up into a sitting position as I burst out laughing, rolling on the floor. Literally. I wipe a tear from my eye as I sit back up. "Had a nice sleep?" I ask, stifling a giggle. He narrows his eyes at me. I slap my hand over my mouth again. He tilts his head at me, confused. I point to his hair, which is still braided and sticking out.

His hand flies to his head and he feels the braids. "Did you…" He starts. I nod, biting my lip to keep from laughing again. "Ginger! What the hell?!" He yells. I shrug. "I was bored!" I say. He shakes his head and untangles his hair as best as he can. I look back at the others. Still out cold. I roll my eyes and stand up.

"Let's wake everyone up." I say as Soul stands up with me, his hair full of knots. I grab Kid's shoulder and shake. His eyes fly open and his head shoots up. I move just in time to avoid his forehead colliding with my face. "NOOO! NOT SEVEN!" He screams, his eyes still closed.

"Da fudge…?" I say, seriously freaked out. Soul snickers from behind me. He walks up to Liz and holds her upside-down until she opens her eyes and yells at him. "HEY! PUT ME DOWN, SOUL!" She screams, squirming to get a good aim at his face. "If you say so," He says, dropping her. She falls to the ground headfirst. She jumps up and slaps him. It makes a really loud noise.

"NEXT TIME JUST SHAKE MY SHOULDER OR SOMETHING, JACKASS!" She yells at him as his hand flies to his cheek. He grunts. He rubs his cheek slowly, muttering something I can't hear. I laugh and wake Tsubaki up. She must be really tired, because she can barely stand. I help her up as Soul swipes his hair out of his eyes, exposing his bandage. Tsubaki and Liz gasp.

"Soul! What happened?" Tsubaki asks, her legs wobbling as she struggles not to fall asleep again. "Was there another kishin egg or something?" Liz asks, poking the bandage with her finger. Soul swats her hand away.

"Nah, I just hit him with a shoe, thinking he was." I respond, leaning against the wall behind me and crossing my arms. Liz snorts. "Nice." She says, her hands on her hips. "I didn't know a shoe could do that much damage." Kid says. I nod. "Neither did I." I say. Kid looks at me. "But why a shoe? Don't you have pocket knives?" He asks me. I laugh. "Long story. Soul, you're pretty lucky that I dropped it, or else a shoe would have been the least of your problems." I say. He grimaces.

"Yeah. Next time, I'll tell you if I go anywhere." He says. I nod. "That would be a good idea." I respond. I look around. "So what should we do now?" Liz asks. I shrug. "I don't know." I say. Should we look in another section of the maze? The last one only let us in and out of the middle, it didn't connect to the other sections, so we couldn't go straight from section to section. Wait a second…

"I got it! Did you guys notice when you were looking that you can't get to the other sections through a section, only the middle?" I ask. They nod. "So no matter what, you'll always end up here!" I say. They nod again. "Get to the point, Ginger." Soul says. I nod.

"Don't you see? All we have to do is wait and eventually they'll come to us! So we don't have to actually look!" I say. Kid puts his hand to his chin. "I suppose you're right. But what should we do until Maka and the others get here?" He asks. I shrug. "I have no idea. But like this, it'll be easier to find them." I say. I plop down on the ground.

"We could play a game or something." Liz suggests. Kid shakes his head. "Now is hardly the time for games, Liz." He says to her. Her shoulders slump. "What else are we gonna do, Einstein?" She says, sitting down next to me. Soul sits on my other side. "Come on. Lighten up, Kid. We can't think of anything else to do." He says as Tsubaki sits down next to Liz.

Kid looks at us for about five seconds, but then he sighs and sits in between Tsubaki and Soul. "Fine. What should we play, then?" He asks. I shrug. Tsubaki looks up, thinking, then looks back down at us. "We could play truth or dare!" She says. I laugh and nod.

"Why not?" I say. "I'll go first." I look around the circle deciding on my first victim. My eyes land on Kid, who's looking extremely bored. "Kid!" I say, pointing at him. He perks up and looks at me expectantly. "Truth or dare?" I ask. "Dare." He responds.

I think for a bit, then look back at him and rub my hands together, grinning evilly. "I dare you…" I pause for effect. "To use my pocket knife to cut one side of your hair shorter than the other!" I say. He gasps and puts his hand on his chest like a gay guy who was just told that Madonna had worn a trash bag to the MTV music awards.

"Never!" He exclaims. Liz laughs. "You have to do it, Kid!" She says. I take out my pocketknife. "Or I could do it." I say, flipping open the blade. He stares at it cautiously. "No!" He says, still keeping his eye on my knife. I bring it closer to him and Liz grabs his arms so he can't move. Soul is literally rolling on the floor laughing.

I chop off one side of his bangs and Liz lets him go. "NOOOOOOO! YOU BITCH, NOW IT'S UNBALEEEEENNCED!" He screams, crying. I join Soul and laugh so hard there are tears coming out of my eyes. "Well, that was fun!" I say, wiping my eyes and sitting back up. "Okay, now your turn!" I say. He shakes his head and closes his eyes.

"Truth or… dare, Tsubaki…" He says slowly. "Truth." She replies. "Umm," Kid says, shaking his head like he's pushing the thought out of his mind. "I'm not good at this." He says after a while of thinking. "Then you can just do an easy one." I say. He nods. "Okay, then. Umm… Oh! What was the last thing you ate?" He asks Tsubaki. She thinks and then looks at him.

"I think it was waffles, actually." She says. I laugh. "Now your turn." I say to her. She nods. "Liz! Truth or dare?" She asks. "Truth." She responds, twirling her hair around her index finger.

"Okay then. Have you shaved your legs this week?" Tsubaki asks. I snicker. Liz blushes. "No…" She says quietly. I laugh again. She turns to me. "Truth or dare?" She asks. "Dare, of course." I reply. I never back down from dares. Liz smiles.

"I dare you to kiss Soul!" She says. Soul and I both snap our heads toward her. "WHAT?!" We say together. She nods. "Come on!" She says. Kid laughs. "Come on, Ginger! You have to do it!" He says. I sigh and plant a small kiss on his cheek. Soul blushes. "There. Now it's-" I start, but just then Mem, Maka, Patty and Black Star run out of the cloudy section of the maze.

"Ginger!" Mem shouts. I jump up and run into her arms. "Mem! You're okay!" I say to her. Liz pulls Patty into a bear hug, crying while Patty pats her on the back. "It's okay, big sis I'm here now!" She says. Soul and Maka fist bump each other and Tsubaki says something to Black Star I can't hear. Kid tries to act cool, but he can't sustain it for very long and he runs into the bear hug between Liz and Patty.

About sixty seconds after we find each other, we hear a voice. "So I see you aren't as average as most humans. Excepting the blonde one with short hair and the arrogant Naruto cosplay." It says. "HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" Black Star yells as Patty giggles.

The voice ignores him and continues. "But, I'm not going to let you out of here that easily." It says. The walls sink back into the ground and a man stands about twenty feet from Mem and me. The rest of our friends stand behind us. The man is wearing what looks like a creepy clown suit. His shoes are normal sized, though.

"Mem. You know what to do." I tell her under my breath so only she can hear. She nods and transforms. I don't even have to budge and the cool wood shaft places itself in my hand. It stings, but I close my eyes and re-match my wavelength with her quickly. It stops stinging and I pull back my first arrow, aiming at him.

I look behind me and see that the others have transformed too. But I only see them for a second. They disappear suddenly, and it's only Mem and I.

"Who are you? And what did you do with my friends?" I ask the man. He laughs at me. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the Magic Man. The whole reason you went through this maze." He says. I scowl. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Where the hell are my friends?! And I better like your answer, because I'm the one who's got an arrow pointed straight for your head!" I yell at him.

"You are a powerful one, aren't you? Your friends are safe. They will be back if and when you defeat me. Remember the word 'if.' As in, if you don't defeat me, you're friends will be gone forever as well." He replies. I lower the arrow. "No. You can't do this! Why did you choose me? Because I'm the weakest one? Is that it?" I ask him, letting the arrow out at the ground. It shoots into the soil below my feet, sinking about halfway before it slows.

"Actually, quite the opposite. I singled you out because though you are certainly not the strongest, you and your partner are the two with the most control. You two are the only ones that I know will be a worthy opponent." He says. I spit on the ground in front of him.

"If you want a worthy opponent, choose Black Star. Or Kid. Or even Maka. But not me. I'll never be as string as them." I reply. I speak the truth. I never will be as strong as them. "True. The one with the blue hair does have a very powerful soul. His partner is amazingly strong, too. And the boy with the stripes. He isn't completely human, now is he?" He asks. I shake my head.

"No. He's a Shinigami." Mem replies from the bow. I nod. "Ah. And the girl with the pigtails. She is full of potential. Her bravery is amazing. And the boy with the spikey hair? I saw you using him, even though he wasn't your partner." I blush. I don't know why though. "He your boyfriend?" The Magic Man says. I widen my eyes at him.

"No! I mean, ye- Maybe! It's none of your business, anyway!" I say quickly. He laughs. "I'll take that as a yes. All of your friends are definitely better than you." He says to me. I blush even more, even though he's not lying. I really am the weakest one out of all of us.

"But when you used that boy, Soul, was it? That's why I chose you. Because you can both fight without your partner beside you. Because you two are the only pairing that don't fight with each other. Ever. Am I correct?" He says. I nod slowly without meaning to.

"Yes. Now, can we fight? I'd really like to defeat you now." He says, his hands filled with a blue light. I nod, smiling as I pull the arrow out of the ground. I pull it back in the shaft. He shoots the light at me, but I release the arrow and they collide in mid-air with a boom.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let that happen!" I say, running up to him and swinging my bow. He ducks and grabs my wrist. He twists it in a way that makes my vision go blurry. "Now time to see if you really can fight on your own." He says. His hand turns into a drill type thing and stabs into my stomach, shredding my flesh and spurting blood everywhere.

"Agh!" I exclaim. "Ginger!" Mem yells from the weapon in my hand. She falls to the ground with a thud and so do I, my vision now completely black. _God damnit! Not again… _I think as I pass out.

_[Mem's POV]_

Ginger collapses to the floor in a heap. "Ginger!" I yell again, kneeling next to her and shaking her as hard as I can. She doesn't move. "Ahaha! Did you hear me? I said it's time to see how you fight on your own!" The Magic Man says from behind me. I whip around, Ginger in my arms and tears in my eyes. "SHUT UP! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" I scream at him. He shakes his head.

"Come on! If you defeat me, your friends will all be released from my spell and will be safe." He replies. I wipe my eyes and flick the tears from my fingertips. "THEN I'LL JUST KILL YOU!" I yell, fury running through my veins and arrows shooting out of my knuckles. I run at him and swing my arm at his head with all my strength. He dodges it and slides under me. But I catch his head in my hand and yank so that he slams on the ground.

I turn around and bring my foot down on his stomach while he's still down. An arrow shoots out of my heel and stabs into his stomach. I pull my foot out and ball up my fist. I stab it into his chest repeatedly until there's blood coming out of his mouth and he's coughing and gasping for breath. I stand back as He stands up slowly.

I give him about five seconds, then I charge at him again and stab my foot into his chest, slamming him against the wall as I swing my leg sideways. "Well…" He says with a cough and a sputter. "You're… more power…ful than I… than I thought…" He says. He's slumped up against the wall, blood running down his neck and chest. I dislodge my arrow from his chest. His eyes widen for a second, and then flutter closed as his head falls to the side.

"Now give back my friends, you bastard," I whisper softly. As if he heard me, a door opens from the ground, letting Black Star and Soul burst out from the ground. Maka, Kid, Liz, Patty and Tsubaki shortly following them. Ginger is still out cold, though. Soul looks around eagerly and spots me. "Mem! Wait, where the hell's Ginger?" He says, spinning around.

Tsubaki gasps when she sees her. Soul spots her shortly after. He runs to her side. He slides his hands under her limp body and lifts her up. He looks at me. "What happened? What did he do?" He yells. I shake my head and squeeze my eyes shut. Nobody says anything.

"Lets just go home." I say. I walk over to Soul and take Ginger from his arms. Her shirt is ripped and bloodstained. The skin underneath is shredded up, but it doesn't look like the Magic Man got deep enough to mess with any internal organs. I carry her all the way back to Death City, holding her as tight as I can the whole way back on the train.

I bring her straight to Nurse Nygus. Ginger always calls her by her first name, Mira. But everyone else calls her Nygus. Nygus takes her and tells me to step out, so as not to distract her while she performs the surgery.

I don't leave until Nygus pokes her head out from the door. "Mem? You're still here?" She says. I nod. "Well, Ginger won't be ready for visiting until tomorrow, so I think you should go home and get some rest." She says. I nod again, rubbing my eyes. "She'll be okay, right?" I ask her. Nygus smiles beneath the bandages around her mouth and nods. "Of course she will" She assures me. I yawn and start home, thankful that Ginger will be alright.

**AN: Tada! Back home once again!**

**Ginger: Damn it! Why'd it have to be meee?**

**Soul: Told you somebody always gets hurt!**

**Mem: Told you it wouldn't be me.**

**Kid: I'm just glad you're going to be okay, Ginger.  
**

**Maka: Watch out for Black Star though.**

**Ginger: Huh?**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Hiya guys! So I know Ginger's supposed to be in the ER right now, but I wrote this while I was waiting for Mem to send me the maze stuff, and before I finished the maze, I didn't have any intentions on anyone getting hurt like this. I'm posting this now cuz it introduces two new characters! Like I said before, please bear with us while we sort this out. I'll be posting the next chapter after this one, like RIGHT after this one, so hold tight while I finish it!**

**Soul: More new characters?**

**Kid: You say that like it's a bad thing.**

**Soul: Well, the last time a new character was introduced, it was Crystal and she's not exactly... nice...**

**Ginger: Well I promise you that this new girl is the nicest, sweetest, person I've ever met. **

**Kid: I'll take your word for it.**

**Ginger: You better! This new character is the new version of my bestie, Mali, remember her?**

**Soul: Yes. Is that really a good thing?**

**Ginger: Shut up, Soul! She's kinda pervy, but she's really cool once you get to know her. She was annoyed with me for making he character so bitchy, so I made a new one and made her extra nice!  
**

**Maka: How many new characters are you making?**

**Ginger: Just these two and two more. Promise!**

**Mem: Meh...**

I got to school this morning with Mem and we walked to our first class. Nothing really unusual happened until our third or fourth, though. I bet you're curious as to what happened, right? I'll tell you, then.

We walk down the hallway to our next class and I suddenly get the urge to pee. I stop and hold out my bag to Mem. "I gotta take a leak. I'll meet you there, 'kay?" I say, making my way down the hallway to the bathrooms. I walk in, do my business, and look at myself in the mirror, taking a deep breath.

I mess with my hair for a bit, then walk out. I'm about to start down the hallway, when I see Crystal and Soul, talking to each other. She has him pinned against the wall, but not close enough to be a threatening stance. On instinct, I duck behind the wall and listen. I silently shun myself. Now I definitely can't walk out.

"You've heard the rumors, haven't you?" Crystal is asking Soul. But he doesn't reply.

"You know, the ones about Ginger being cooler than you?" I hear her ask. "Maybe. Why?" Soul replies. Rumors about me? Being cooler than Soul? I wonder if they actually exist, or if Crystal just made it up.

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they're true." She says. My fists clench. There's no way.

"No, they're not. And even if they were, I wouldn't care." Soul replies. I let out a loud breath of relief, but slap my hand over my mouth. I look out at them, but they don't seem to notice. I keep listening.

"Would you care if she was doing it on purpose?" She asks. My fists clench even tighter, my nails digging into my palms.

"She wouldn't do that…" Soul says. _Duh! _I think, _you know I wouldn't! Please don't believe her, Soul! _I hear his feet shift. "Are you sure? Because I think she would." She adds. I want so much to jump out there and tell him the truth. To slap her so hard my hand leaves a mark. But for some reason I can't. All I can do is sit here and listen.

"But… she's…" Soul starts. But Crystal cuts him off. "Yes, I know. You two loooove each other," She says, dragging out the word "love."

"But, she's just using you. So that she can claw her way to the top with those over-grown fingernails of hers. That way, when she dumps you, you'll just lose it and she'll be the best for sure. Don't you see? You're just in her way." She says. I feel a tear squeeze its way out of my eye and run down my cheek. Please. Please know that she's just trying to tear us apart, Soul.

"She is?" He asks. My eyes fly open. He… actually believes her? That bitch. When I get my hands on her…

"I'm really sorry. But you know, you have to end it with her before she does it to you." She says. My legs twitch. But no matter how much they want to run, my brain won't let them.

"I… I guess… You're right. I should. I can't let her use me like that…" He says. More tears make their way out. I put my hand over my mouth to keep my cries muffled. "But," Crystal says. _Oh, she has more? What's she going to do now? _ I think

"When you're done with her, you know you always have me, right?" She says. My legs sink from against my chest to flat on the floor. I feel a sharp pain in my hands. I look at them, and they're all bloody with marks from my nails. I wipe them on my jeans, not caring how it looks.

"I thought I was a hippie who needed a haircut?" He says. I smile. A little. At least he's not going to get with Crystal after he rips my heart in two. Again. I look out from behind the wall. "Well, I was just joking. And don't forget, my offer still stands." She says, leaning in to kiss him. I want to look away, but I can't. Luckily, Soul pushes past her and walks away. "I gotta get to class." He says to her.

I stand up. When he turns the corner, he sees my face all teary and my hands covered in blood. He holds out his hand to me. "Ginger, I-" He starts, but I slap his hand down. "Don't touch me!" I snap. He pulls his hand back in surprise.

"Please. Tell me you don't believe her." I say, but he just looks at me, trying to decide what to do. "Soul! You… I would never do that to you!" I say. He shakes his head.

"I know. I… I'm sorry. She just wants to terrorize you." He says. I sigh with relief. My legs go weak and I stumble into his arms. He holds me tight as I sob into his shoulder. I wrap my arms around him and grab his jacket in my hand, balling it up in my fist.

I cry and cry for a really long time. I'm so pathetic. Why am I acting like this? I need to get a grip. I'm making a fool of myself. But just as I'm about to apologize for acting so stupid, I feel a tear splatter on my shoulder, seeping through my shirt and onto my skin. And it's not mine. I smile, and I know that he truly doesn't believe her. But I get the feeling that this isn't the last I'm going to hear of this.

I pull back, and Soul smiles at me, another tear running down his cheek. I laugh and wipe it off with my thumb. He holds my hand against his cheek and kisses me. I feel a burst of what feels like electricity run down to my fingertips, just like every other time he kisses me. He pulls away and smiles again. I can't help but smile back.

We walk to class together and afterwards, go to check out the assignments. By now I've stopped crying and my hands are wrapped in bandages. And right after the scars I got from holding Soul went away, too. I make a mental note to cut my fingernails.

After facing the Magic Man, I don't think I can go after another kishin for a while. But Mem still thinks we can handle it. She points out an assignment. I look at it, but it's kind of far up and I can't quite see it from here. I put my hand up to angle it so I can see it, when my hand bumps with someone else's.

"Oh! I'm sorry, were you already looking at that one?" A girl says. I turn around to face her. She has long blonde hair that goes down to her waist and her eyes are a soft green color. She's wearing a long sleeved faint pink shirt and dark blue leggings with light brown Uggs. She has a kind smile and her cheeks are tinted the same shade of pink as her shirt. She has glasses, too. They're kind of nerdy, but they fit her.

Next to her is a guy with brown hair. He wears a green shirt and jeans. His sneakers are dark blue and he's focusing on another assignment. His hand is entwined with hers.

"Umm, yeah, no it's fine. I was only curious as to what it was. My name's Ginger." I say, holding out my hand. She takes her hand out of the guy's. "My name's Melody. This is James." She says, shaking my outstretched hand. She looks down at my bandages.

"Oh, you poor thing! What happened?" She exclaims, holding my hands closer to her face, her eyes wide with concern. She looks up at me. "Oh, that's nothing. Just a few scrapes." I assure her. She looks back at my hands. "Are you sure?" She asks. I smile and nod. "Yeah, I'm fine." I say.

To be honest, if I saw them from behind I would have thought they were Crystal and Alex.

"Nice to meet you, anyway. This is Memory. But you can call her Mem." I tell her, kicking Mem in the foot. She looks at them and waves. She refocuses on the board.

"That's a pretty name. Are you new? I don't think I've seen you around." She says. I shake my head. "Well, kind of. We got here a few months ago. I'm guessing you're not?" I say. I take back what I said before. She's way to nice to be Crystal. We chat for a bit, but then it's time for lunch. We head into the cafeteria. Melody and James walk to a different table than ours, though. When they sit down, their hands are still entwined.

I plop down in between Soul and Mem after grabbing my lunch. He looks at me and smiles. I remember this morning, but I quickly push the thought out of my head. I smile back, then take a bite out of my sandwich. He shrugs and does the same.

"So, have you ever heard of a girl named Melody? Her partner's name is James." I ask Maka when I'm finished with it. She shakes her head. "Nope. Why?" She asks from across the table. Tsubaki, sitting next to her, looks at me. "Actually, I think I know her. She's the girl with the long hair, right? And I think James is her boyfriend or something…" She says, looking up like she's thinking with her finger on her chin.

I nod. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I met her today. We were looking at the same assignment." I say, taking a swig of my water bottle. I set it down on the table and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. "They're pretty cute." I add. I look over at their table. They're looking at each other, both smiling dreamily. James plants a kiss on Melody's cheek and puts his arm around her. She rests her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess they are," Maka says when she notices where I'm looking. I rest my chin in my hand and sigh. I wish relationships could be as simple as that, rather than complicated and hard like Soul and mine's. Soul looks at me. He grabs my other hand, which is resting on the seat beside me. He takes it in his and gives it a squeeze. I smile at him. He smiles back.

"Aww. Look at you two!" Liz says, sitting on the other side of Maka with Patty next to her. I blush, but I don't let go of Soul's hand. "Yeah, you guys are a pretty cute couple, too!" Maka adds, stabbing at a salad with her fork. "Shut up!" Soul says. But he's blushing, too.

"Soul and Maka, sitting in a tree!" Maka teases. Liz, Patty, Black Star, Mem and Kid smile. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" They all say together. They burst out laughing. Even Tsubaki cracks a smile. My cheeks get even warmer.

"So, have you guys even kissed yet?" Mem asks from my side. I look at Soul, who's red as a tomato. I whack her with my free hand. "What? It was just a question!" She says, her hand on her arm where I hit her.

"It's none of your beeswax!" I say to her. Maka smiles. "Well, have you?" She asks, shoving a forkful of lettuce and cherry tomatoes in her mouth. Soul and I say nothing.

"Well, if we don't get an answer, then I dare you to kiss her, Soul!" Liz says. Soul and I whip our heads in her direction. "What?!" We exclaim together.

"You heard me! Come on, Soul! If you kiss her now, then we'll know that you have kissed!" She says, examining her sandwich. She pokes it with her fork. Black Star snickers from beside Tsubaki. "Or are you too much of a baby to do it?" He says. He chugs his chocolate milk down in one sip.

"Kiss her! Kiss her!" They chant. Soul blushes and looks at his lap. I roll my eyes.

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud!" I shout. I take Soul's head in my hands and turn it towards mine. I close my eyes and press my lips to his. I completely forget that we're in the middle of a cafeteria, and we stay like that for longer than we should have.

"Oooh! It's getting kinda hot in here, don't you think?" Mem says from beside me, mock-fanning herself with her hand while Black Star whistles. I'm pulled back to the present and my eyes shoot open. Souls are still closed, though.

I pull my head back and blush. Kid pats Soul on the back in a joking way. "We only asked you to kiss her, Soul!" He says. I glare at him while everyone laughs. I sneak a peek at Soul, who's silently poking at his salad.

I smile. Maybe our relationship isn't as complicated as I think.

"So will you guys do it again?" Liz jokes. Soul and I both look up at her.

"NO!"

**AN: Okay, guys. Next chapter is coming real soon! I swear! No character comm right now, my dad's making me watch the snowmeiser-heatmeiser christmas special or whatever. I like it, but I like it REALLY hot! Nah, jkjk. Had to say that. Just came up in the show, and my dad said it with me. I'm escaping every other scene to write. Haha, and guess what?**

**I'M TOO MUCH! lolz... You guys prob don't get that at all...**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Heyo! So guess what, mayans?**

**I'M STILL HERE!**

**Anyhoo, I have a new chappy for you guys, hope you likey! Well, Ginger's in the ER now, so everything makes sense o.0**

**Ginger: Meh. I hate dong nothing all day in this stupid hospital bed. I'm so bored...**

**Soul: Me too**

**Mem: Me three**

**Kid: Me eight**

**Maka: WILL YOU SHUT UP?**

I open my eyes and see something big and blue right up in my face. I rub my eyes so they're not blurry to see Black Star standing over me, pouting and waiting for me to wake up. My reflexes take over and I scream as my fist shoots straight up in the air, right into his nose.

"GOD DAMN IT, GINGEEERR!" Black Star screams as he scrambles off the floor. I ignore him and look around. Maka, Soul, Mem, Tsubaki, James and Melody are standing next to my bed, waiting for me to wake up.

"Oh! Thank God you're finally awake!" Melody says. I smile. "Yeah, I guess… wait a second, what do you mean?" I say, confused. I look around again and notice for the first time that I'm in the nurse's office at the academy.

"She means you kinda got your insides drilled up by that kishin dude we went after?" Mem says. I can't remember what happened though. Soul nods when he sees my confusion. "Yeah, you got your ass kicked pretty badly. You've been in a coma for two weeks." He adds. I sigh and fall back onto the hospital bed.

"Agh! Damn…" I say, my hand flying to my side. I feel immense pain circled up there. I look down and see a bloodstained bandage covering my stomach. "Seriously? Ugh, this is a pain. Can I leave?" I ask. Mem shakes her head. "Nope. You're not even close to being healed." She says.

"How are you feeling?" Melody asks. I smile at her. "I'm fine." I say. She smiles too. "Are you sure? That bandage tells me otherwise." She says. I nod. "Really? Because I could barely sleep knowing what happened to you!" She says. "Yes, I'm okay. Thank you, though." I assure her. She's so sweet. James looks at her. "Come on, Melody. Leave her be. She said she's fine, and I'm sure she is. Right?" He tells her, looking at me. I grin and nod.

"See? Now I think we should get going, it's getting late." He adds. Melody looks at him, smiles, then turns to me and waves. "Alright. I'm sorry. Hope you heal quickly!" She says as they walk out the door. Tsubaki waves too, dragging Black Star out of the room. Maka follows, but Soul stays behind.

"Need something?" I ask him. He shakes his head. "Nah. Just thought you'd miss me if I left." He responds. I raise my eyebrow at him, but then laugh. "Maybe a little." I say. He smiles and sits on the bed next to me. I scoot over so he can fit.

"So are you really okay? Does it hurt at all?" He asks, poking it. I swat his hand away playfully. "It does when you poke it. And when I move too quickly, but as long as Black Star isn't here I don't think I'll have to worry about that." I say. He laughs. "Yeah, I'll try my best to keep him out. But after that hit to the nose he took earlier, I think he'll keep his distance." He says. We don't talk for a while, just sit there, waiting for the other to speak.

"So how long was I out again?" I ask him, breaking the fragile silence lingering between us. "Two weeks. I was really worried." He says. I smile. "You were worried?" I say. He realizes how weird he sounded and recovers, but not very well. After trying, he just sighs. "Well, yeah. I was, actually." He says.

"Well, I think that's sweet." I say, smiling at him. He smiles back and kisses me softly on the cheek. I lay my head on his shoulder.

"Do you know how long I have to stay here?" I ask him. "I don't know, I think like another week or something." He responds. He puts his arm around me. "I can't stand this. I hate being stuck in one place for a long time." I say, not realizing how stupid it sounds until it's out. Soul smiles. "That's not surprising." He responds.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask him. He shrugs. "I don't know, you just… move around a lot. I don't have trouble believing that you don't like staying still." He says. I laugh. "You know what I mean." I say, gently elbowing him on the side. He laughs. "Don't worry. I'll visit you." He says. I roll my eyes. "You're starting to sound like Black Star. 'Oh, I'll come visit you and you'll be instantly all better because I'm the amazing Black Star!'" I quote. Soul laughs again.

"Nice impression." He says. I mock bow. "Thank you." I say, laughing with him. We stop talking again. I get the feeling he wants to ask me something, but he can't get the nerve to ask it.

"If you want to say something, spit it out." I say, turning toward him. He looks at me. "Umm, I don't know actually." He says. I shrug. "So what did I miss while I was out?" I ask, trying to start a conversation. He blinks and shakes his head. "Not really. Well, actually, there's going to be a school dance or whatever." He says.

"Really? I didn't think this would be the type of school to have dances." I say. He nods. "Yeah, it's the anniversary again I think. But I don't know why they would do that, last time we had a dance the kishin was freed." He says. I laugh. "Yeah, I don't think that's a very good idea." I say.

"So… will you, umm… go with me?" He asks, blushing. He sure blushes a lot. "No." I say, looking him in the eye. He stops blushing and looks at me, confused.

"Of course I will, silly! You don't have to ask!" I say, laughing. He lets out a breath and laughs nervously. "Oh. Heh, okay…" He says. I laugh and lean my head on his shoulder again. He rests his head on top of mine. "So, what is it like? Is it super formal and up tight? Or is it the kind of dance everyone wears jeans to?" I ask.

"Formal. Like suits and fancy dresses." He replies. I nod slightly. "Ah." I say. "Hey, what time is it?" I ask. He shrugs. "I don't know, like four?" He guesses. "Cool. So you can stay longer." I say, smiling and closing my eyes. I feel him smile back.

I stay there for a long time, my head on his shoulder. I think I fell asleep, though. I wake up and Soul has his eyes closed, breathing softly. "Soul?" I whisper, rubbing my eyes. I poke his cheek a couple of times. "I'm awake…" He says. I snatch my finger away. He smiles. I laugh as he picks his head up.

"You should probably get going. It's late." I say, gesturing to the window, where the sun is starting to go down. He shakes his head. "Maybe in a bit." He says. I smile. Our faces are just inches away from each other, our noses brushing at the tips. I smile and press my lips to his fro a split second, then pull back.

"Come on, Soul. Get you lazy ass up and back home." I say, scooting him towards the edge of the bed. He laughs and stands up, brushing himself off. I quickly lie down and close my eyes, pretending I'm asleep. He laughs and I hear the door shut.

**AN: Y'all ready for the christmas dance? Huh? And NO, nothing that will completely totally mess with the balance of the world is going to happen this time. I hope. I was watching these hilarious youtube videos earlier, just thought you guys would want to know about them. They're "Soul Eater the Abridged" and they're the funniest thing I've ever seen. Have you guys ever heard of them? I'm addicted...**

**Ginger: Oh my glob, they're sooo funny!**

**Soul: Glob?**

**Ginger: Didn't we go over this already?**

**Soul: I think so. So what happens in this abridged thing?**

**Ginger: It's just like your show, but they have people do voiceovers and make you guys say different stuff. **

**Soul: Like funny stuff?**

**Ginger: Yup! To be honest, you and Kid are my favorite characters!**

**Soul and Kid: Oh, really?**

**Ginger: Yeah! Your voice actors are hilarious!**

**Soul: I guess I'll have t check them out, then.**


	18. Merry Christmas, Soul Eater!

**AN: Merry Christmas, guys! Long chapter here for ya, hope you like it! SO the new chapter of Velvet Treasons is up, the newest fanfiction by my bestie, Katsumi Koboyashi, or KitKat! The third chapter is written by yours truly, so check it out!**

**Ginger: It's really good, trust me!**

**Mem: I'll bet it is.**

**Ginger: Yup! And Asa Nakamura is co writing it, too, but she's in Ohio for christmas and doesn't have any internet. **

**Soul: So what's it about?**

**Ginger: I'm not giving anything away, but I will say something surprising that I've never seen in a fanfiction.**

**Kid: What is it?**

**Ginger: You're going out with Tsubaki! I think...**

**Kid: HUH?!**

**Ginger: Haha, yup!**

**Soul: *snicker* sounds pretty interesting...! *trying not to laugh***

I open my eyes and immediately smell gingerbread. I pull on my robe and stuff my cold toes in my slippers and walk out of my room. I swipe Ollie off the couch as I head towards the source of the scent. I slide my way into the kitchen, where Mem is pulling a pan of freshly baked gingerbread cookies out of the oven.

I smile and inhale deeply through my nose. I scratch Ollie on the head softly. "Morning, Mem!" I say, dipping my finger in the bowl of icing on the counter. Mem slips off her oven mitts and puts them on the counter.

"Ginger bread, Ginger?" She asks. I nod eagerly, stroking Ollie with my right hand. Gingerbread cookie decorating has been a tradition in my family ever since I was born. My mom named me after the kind of cookies my grandma brought my mom as a "Congratz on your baby!" Present. She passed away a few months later, so we bake gingerbread cookies in remembrance of my birth and her passing.

Mem takes a cookie, blows it off, and holds it in front of my mouth. I take it in my teeth and sit at the table, setting Ollie down on the floor. He's still sleeping, so I lay him in the chair next to me. I eat my cookie slowly, so as not to burn myself. Mem takes a cookie for herself and shoves it in her mouth, sitting next to me.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Mem!" I say through a mouthful of moist gingery goodness. She nods in response, her mouth too full to speak. I walk over to the counter and take a gingerbread man. I put it on a plate and grab my bag of icing. I brainstorm ideas for the best gingerbread man this world has ever seen. Each year, I try to top the one I made the year before. Last year, I made hipster-bread man. That's going to be hard to beat.

After about an hour of me being totally OCD and not stopping until it's perfect, I finally have a Gangnam Styling gingerbread man. I even gave it sunglasses and a blue tux, just like PSY. Mem takes a picture of my awesome cookie so she can add it to my cookie hall of fame.

I decorate the rest of my share of cookies the traditional McAllister family way, with bowties, gumdrop buttons and super cute faces. When I'm done, I put them on a big serving dish and set it on the table along with the other food for the party tonight. I hear a yawn come from the table.

"I smell cookies…" Ollie says, his nose in the air. He sniffs, jumps off the chair, and trots into the kitchen, his nose up and his tail wagging slightly. When he reaches the stove, he transforms and looks at the extra cookies. He looks at us, then the cookies, then back at us. I roll my eyes.

"Knock yourself out, kiddo." I say, walking out of the kitchen to clean up for the party. I swipe everything out of the way and scoot the presents farther under our medium-sized tree. As I stand up to finish cleaning, my head bumps one of the ornaments. It falls onto the carpet with a slight _thunk. _

I pick it up and hang it back on the tree. It's a little glass sleigh, with metal on the bottom. The engraving on the bottom says "First Christmas, Ginger McAllister," on it. I hang it up and search for Mem's. I find it near the top. I take it off to read the engraving on the bottom. Hers is a glass rocking horse, also with metal on the bottom. Her engraving says, "First Christmas with our family, Memory Rise," I smile and put it back up on the tree.

I don't remember much about Mem's first Christmas with us, but I remember she was really surprised to be getting all those gifts. She said that when she still lived with her parents, they each only got three, plus a candy cane in their stockings.

I sit on the couch. I think of my family and remember that my mom is getting out of the hospital in a week. She's almost all the way healed, but she still needs a wheelchair. She's going to come visit Death City for two weeks, but then she's going to go live with her friend back home. I'm really excited, and so's Mem.

I walk back to my room and change, putting on my Santa hat as I walk back out. Mem and I make food for everyone for the party. I can't wait!

Right as I finish setting up, the doorbell rings. "I can get it!" I shout to Mem as I run halfway to the door, sliding the rest of the way in my fuzzy socks. I open the door to see Melody and James. Melody waves with her free hand, her other in James'.

"Hey! Merry Christmas!" I say, inviting them in. "Merry Christmas to you as well, Ginger!" Melody says, giving me a one-armed hug. I hug her back and show them to the living room. I rush over to the speaker with my iPod and change the music from my rock songs to the holiday playlist I set up. I turn the volume down a bit and take off my apron, hanging it on the handle on the oven.

I walk into the living room and catch Mem, standing on the couch and hanging up what looks like mistletoe. I put my hands on my hips and raise my eyebrows at her. "That's not for me, is it?" I ask suspiciously. She whips her head in my direction, blushes, then shakes her head. "Nah! It's just for fun!" She says. I narrow my eyes at her, then walk out of the room.

Melody and James are talking about something in the kitchen and James is eyeing the food. I hand him a small paper plate. "Help yourself." I say, walking to the door as the doorbell rings again. He thanks me and loads his plate up with food.

I open the door to see Maka, Soul, Tsubaki and Black Star. I invite them in and am about to close the door when a black shoe sneaks its way in the door. I open it again and see Liz, Patty and Kid, all panting. They walk in without saying anything. I shrug and follow them in.

After a few more minutes, I hear another knock at the door. I'm about to get it, but Mem sprints towards it. "I got it!" She says as she passes me.

I watch as she opens the door, but I can't see who it is. Everyone I invited is already here, so Mem must have invited someone. Oh, well. I walk back into the kitchen to grab myself some eggnog. I grab my snowman mug and fill it up. I sip my eggnog as I walk into the living room where everyone is hanging out.

I walk over to Soul, Maka, Kid, Liz and Patty. We chat for a while, when I see out of the corner of my eye a familiar all black outfit with dark hair. But the strange thing is, there's two of them. I turn my head and see Mem talking to Alex. And wherever Alex goes, Crystal goes. My eyes get really wide. "I'll be right back!" I tell Soul, running toward Mem. I drag her away from Alex and into the kitchen.

"What the hell's your problem?" I ask her. She tilts her head in confusion. "You invited Crystal?!" I say, shaking her. She laughs and shakes her head. "No, silly! I only invited Alex. Crystal has no idea he's here. He's actually pretty cool, once you get to know him! He plays basketball like I do and he wears black! Just like me! And he's really strong…" She gushes. I whack her over the head.

"I really don't care! Just as long as _sheee's _not here…" I say, dragging out the word "she."

I walk back to Soul as Mem speed walks back to Alex. "Sorry about that," I tell him when I get back. He smiles. "Nah. It's fine. So what was that about, anyway?" He asks. I look over at Mem and Alex. Mem is completely totally absorbed in whatever he's saying. Probably something about all the different shades of black. According to her, there's more than one. She always gets mad at me for saying there isn't.

"Nothing," I say, turning back to Soul. He looks over my shoulder at them. "Hey, isn't he that Crystal girls partner or whatever?" He says. I nod. "Yeah, but she doesn't know he's here." I tell him, taking another sip of nog. He looks at them for another second and shrugs.

"Want some eggnog? Mem made it this morning." I ask him. He looks into my mug. "What's-" He asks, but I drag him into the kitchen. I pour him a mug of eggnog and he takes a sip. "This is really good…" He says, looking at the nog and taking another sip. I laugh and do the same with mine.

The second we walk back into the living room, Maka yanks Soul over to the couch with Liz and Patty. I roll my eyes. Probably trying to make him kiss me or something like that. I notice Kid and Ollie arguing about something. I walk over to them.

"Yes, I know it's only on the right side. What's your point?" Ollie asks Kid when I get closer.

"It makes it unbalanced!" Kid replies like it's obvious. "Again, your point?" Ollie repeats. Kid rolls his eyes. "Isn't that reason enough?" He says. I laugh. Of course that's what they would be talking about. "That's not a very good reason!" Ollie protests. Kid lifts up Ollie's bangs to get a closer look at his spot. "Can you get it removed?" He asks. Ollie shakes his head. "I'm not going to, if that's what you're hinting at." Ollie says. Kid pokes at the spot with his pinkie finger.

"I suppose I could try if…" He says. Ollie swats his hand away and jumps into my arms. "KYAHH! STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU FREAK!" he yells. I wrap my arms around him protectively and sigh.

"Not now, Kid. Just ignore it. Your life isn't going to be any good if you go around fixing every imperfection you come across. If you try to ignore it, it won't bother you." Kid doesn't flinch, so I try another approach. "Hey, look! The number eight!" I say, pointing behind him with a look of false excitement in my eyes.

"REALLY? WHERE?" He says, looking around. While he's distracted, I pull Ollie away from him and towards the door, which was just knocked on. I didn't invite anyone else, so I don't have any idea who it might be. I open the door with my foot to see Blair, standing there with a bag of cookies.

"Merry Christmas! I'm really bored, can I come in?" She says quickly, looking over my shoulder into the living room. I nod and hand her Ollie, who smiles goofily as she holds him and stares at him with fascination. "Oh, aren't you the sweetest cutest thing EVER!" She says, pulling him into a bear hug.

I leave them alone and walk back into the living room, where Soul is standing by the tree. He sees me and waves me over. "Hey. What's up?" I ask. He says nothing and simply points to the ceiling. I look up to see a bundle of mistletoe hanging above us. I laugh. "Liz and Maka?" I ask. He nods. I roll my eyes and look over his shoulder.

Maka is waving while Liz makes kissy faces at us. I laugh and plant a small kiss on his mouth. I smile at Maka and Liz and run my hand through Soul's hair messily. "Merry Christmas, bud." I say. I check my watch.

"Oh! Time for games!" I say, dragging him to the carpet in the middle of the room and sitting him down next to me. "HEY! EVERYBODY! SIT YOUR BUTTS DOWN AND LISTEN UP!" I yell. Everyone looks at me and sits. Maka sits on my other side, then Patty, Liz, Kid, Tsubaki, Black Star, Melody, James, and then back to Soul. Even Blair joins us, who still has Ollie in her arms. I hold out my hand to her. She frowns and hands him over to me. I take him and sit him in my lap. Blair falls back onto the couch.

"You okay, kiddo?" I ask. He shakes his head slowly. "She was… MOLESTING me…" He whispers into my ear. Soul and I laugh. I shush everyone.

"Alrighty kids! Who here has heard of a game called Mafia?" I ask. No one does anything except for Mem, who raises her hand. "Oh, come on, guys! This is like my favorite game!" She says.

"Okay, well I guess I'll have to explain it. So there's a Mafia, a Nurse, and a Mayor." I start. "Everybody else is a citizen. Mem, you'll be God." Mem nods. I continue. "So Mem is going to pick each person, one tap for Mafia, two taps for Nurse, and three taps for Mayor. So then after Mem picks the people, She'll say, 'Mafia wake up,' and whomever she chooses will wake up and choose who they want to kill. Then, the doctor will wake up and choose someone they want to save. If they choose the person who is killed, then the person chosen by the Mafia is saved. Then the Mayor wakes up and tries to figure out who the Mafia is. If they're right, the citizens win. If they're wrong, then the game continues. Then everybody wakes up and Mem will make up a story about how the person was killed or saved or whatever. Then, everyone votes out someone who they think the Mafia is. Got it?" I finish. I take a deep breath. Everyone nods.

"Okay, let's go! Nighty-night, my little victims!" Mem says, rubbing her hands together. Everybody puts their heads down. After a bit, I feel a single tap on my shoulder. Muahaha, that means I'm the Mafia!

"Okay, Mafia wake up!" Mem says. I put my head up and open my eyes. "Who do you want to kill?" She asks. I look around the circle, deciding on my prey. My eyes fall on Liz, whose arm is around Patty. I smile and point at her. She nods. "Okay, now go back to sleep." She says. After the Nurse and Mayor wake up, she awakens the citizens. I open my eyes again and bounce Ollie on my lap.

"So one day, Liz and Patty were walking down the hallway, when suddenly, Liz felt the urge to pee. So she went to the bathroom while Patty waited. Nurse Soul, thinking that Patty would be the first victim, was busy curing her paper cut while Liz was murdered in the bathroom. The end." She says. Liz slumps over. "Aww…" She says, stepping out of the circle. Mem laughs mischievously.

After a few more rounds, there are only three of us left. Soul, Patty, and me. "Alright then. Everyone, go to sleep!" Mem says. We put our heads down. Ollie isn't on my lap anymore, so I can look up without worrying about him knowing I'm the mafia.

"Mafia, wake up and choose your victim!" She says. I smile and point to Soul. She nods and Ollie snickers. I close my eyes again as Soul wakes up to choose who to save. "Alright, since there's no mayor anymore," She says as Kid whimpers. "Everyone wake up!" She says.

"So once upon a time, Ginger was walking down the street, when suddenly a crazed kishin egg came out of nowhere and knocked her into a building! Nurse Soul immediately rushed to her side, but little did he know, Ginger was hiding a knife in her pocket! When Soul leaned in to give her a little smoochey-smooch…" She says. Soul and I blush while everyone else laughs. "She took out the knife and stabbed him in the back! And the Mafia was revealed as GINGER MCALLISTER, SERIAL KILLER!" She finishes. I laugh and stand up, my hands in the air with a victorious look on my face.

Patty shoots up next to me, her fist in the air. "HELL YEAH! I'M THE LAST SURVOVOR OF THE TOWN! BOW DOWN TO ME, DEAD CITIZENS!" She shouts. Everyone laughs with me and I hear the doorbell ring.

"Be right back!" I say, running to the door. When I open it, I see my mother in a wheelchair being pushed by a man in sea foam green nurse cloths and one of those thingy's that goes over your mouth when you perform surgery or whatever.

"Mom!" I say, ignoring the man unintentionally and wrapping her in a hug. I pull back and take a closer look at her smiling face. There's a scar going from her forehead down her nose and then off to the right to her ear. I feel a couple tears squeeze their way out. "Mom, your scar…" I can't help saying. She smiles and shakes her head. "I'm fine, honey. Can't you just be happy that I'm here for Christmas?" She says. I nod and hug her again, still crying.

"Aww, quit the waterworks, Gingersnap," The doctor says. I look up at him, confused. "What?" I say, tilting my head. The doctor pulls off the mask-thing and smiles.

"Jimmi!" I say, jumping into his arms. He hugs me as Mem runs into the front room. "Hey, what the hell is… Oh my gosh, Jimmi! Mrs. McAllister!" She says, running up and giving them hugs as well.

"What are you guys doing here, anyway? You weren't supposed to come for to weeks!" I say. My mother smiles. "The doctor let me out early, and your brother wanted to come along with me to see you." She responds. I smile at her and hold her hand as Jimmi wheels my mom into the living room, grabbing two suitcases from outside the door as he comes in.

"Well, we're having a Christmas party, so come on in!" Mem says, following us. We get to the living room and everyone looks up at us. I smile as my mom and brother wave. "Guys, this is my mom, Jess, and my big brother, Jimmi!" I say as they wave back. "Mom, Jimmi, this is Maka, Patty, Liz, Kid, Black Star, Tsubaki, Ollie, Melody, James, Blair, and Soul." I say, pointing to each one of my friends.

"Hey, do you have a bathroom? Wearing paper kind of itches…" He says, taking off his nurse cap. I nod and point. He grabs the smaller of the two suitcases and goes to change.

When he gets back, I plop down and pat the ground next in between Maka and I. Maka's cheeks turn a light shade of pink. I don't blame her; Jimmi's definitely got the looks my dad used to have. His skin is tan and smooth without a blemish on his face. His hair is a dark reddish-brown, and his eyes a bright green. Looking at us, you wouldn't be able to tell we're related. Compared to my light red hair, pale-ish skin, barely visible freckles and purple eyes (they're my favorite feature), we look totally different.

"Alrighty, guys. Time to play Bus Stop!" I say, clapping my hands together. "I'm guessing no one knows how to play?" I ask. They nod. "Okay, so there's going to be one person sitting on one side of the couch." I say, looking around the circle. I point to Maka. "Maka, you'll go first. Then another person," I look around again. I point at Kid this time. "Okay, Kid. So for some reason, you really want that seat Maka is sitting in. you have to find a way to get her out of it, but you can't touch her. Maka, you have to pretend you've never met Kid in your entire life. And you have to leave when you would leave in real life, if somebody actually came up and did that to you. Got it?" I ask everyone. They nod and Maka sits on the couch while Kid stands up.

He thinks for a bit, but then he smiles and walks up to Maka. He nonchalantly sits down next to her. He slowly turns his head, then gasps.

"Excuse me, but I believe you may just be the love of my life!" He exclaims, leaning in with puckered lips. Everyone laughs as Maka shoots up and sits back down in her spot on the carpet. Kid smiles triumphantly and Ollie raises his hand. "Can I go now?" He asks. I nod, still laughing. Ollie stands up and walks over to Kid.

"Excuuuuuusse me, sir…" Ollie says, dragging out his words. "But I couldn't help but notice those… stripes…" He says, pointing his finger at Kids hair. Kid's eye twitches. "Y-yes…?" He says in a shaky voice. Ollie grins. "They're hideous! No symmetry at ALL!" He says. Kid loses it and falls to the floor, his butt in the air and his fist banging on the ground.

"I KNOW THEY ARE, I'M SO DISGUSTING, LOOK AT ME I'M ASYMMETRICAL GARBAGE! JUST GARBAGE! DON'T LOOK AT ME, PLEASE!" He cries as Liz and Patty kneel next to him to get him to stop. Everyone bursts out laughing.

"You have… interesting friends, Bright Eyes." Jimmi tells me. I laugh. Bright Eyes is his nickname for me, well, one of them anyway. He calls me that because of my purple eyes, which he says are super bright. "Yeah, I guess they are." I respond. After a few more rounds, I decide it's my turn and stand up. Black Star sits on the couch, laughing his ass off over how he got Melody out of the chair. I think about what to do, but then I get the best idea ever.

I sit down on the couch and look at Black Star, then look away. I look back at him, lick my lips and stare at his arm, eyes wide. He stops laughing and schooches over on the couch. "Need something?" He asks me suspiciously. I take his arm in my hands and put it right next to my face. "I'll bet you taste yummy…" I say, sticking my tongue out like I'm going to lick him.

He screams and jumps back, falling off the couch. We laugh and I look around the room. "Did everyone go?" I ask. They nod, still laughing. I smile. "Okay, then! Time for the tree topper!" I say, shooting up along with Mem and running into the kitchen to retrieve the topper my dad bought my mom when I was born. I take it out of the box in my room and bring it back into the room. Everyone is standing now, except my mom. Jimmi and Mem walk over to me.

We hold the star in each of our hands like we have every year since we found Mem. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a tear run down my mother's cheek. I smile as we put the crystal star on top of our Christmas tree. We step back and I smile. I turn around and see my mom, smiling with her auburn eyes shining with tears.

I wrap her in a hug. I know how hard it was for her when dad became a kishin egg and almost killed her. She still loves him, though. I know she misses him.

After all the crying has stopped, everyone returns to chatting and eating. I sit down on the couch, my legs crossed. Mem walks up and sits down next to me. "Hey, Ginge. Having fun?" She asks. I smile and nod. "Yeah. I am, actually." I respond. She raises her eyebrow at me.

"Then why are you sitting on the couch by yourself?" She says. I laugh. "I don't know, I guess there's just nothing much to do except talk, and there's not much to talk about." I tell her, shrugging. She looks at me. "You could grab your guitar and sing a song for everyone." She teases. I laugh. "That's actually a cool idea, Mem." I say. She laughs, but then she stops and stares at me.

"Haha, wait… seriously?" She asks. She knows I usually don't play and sing on my own free will. She usually has to make me. I nod. "Yeah! Why not? As long as you sing with me!" I say. She blushes. I personally think that Mem has a really pretty voice. She's just really shy about it.

"I'd rather not…" She says, scratching the back of her head. I smile and grab her hand. "Come on, silly! I know you can!" I say. I run into my room, speed-tune my guitar, and whip up a really quick song. Mem helps of course, and we run out of my room, song and guitar in hand.

"Hey! You guys ready for a Christmas song?" I say. Everybody looks at us. "Sure. Why not?" Jimmi says, sitting down in front of the couch. Mem and I sit down on the red cushions and I strum a G chord on my guitar.

"Alrighty, then! Sit down, everybody!" I say. I look at Mem and smile. She grins back and holds up the song so she can look at the first few lines. I take a breath and strum the first couple chords, which are A, E minor, G, D and repeat.

"So I've got a little song for you, And if you like, it, you can sing along too!" I sing. Mem smiles and opens her mouth to sing the next line.

"It's Christmas time, lets have some fun. We'll even teach you…" She continues. We lean our heads together. "Our brand new Christmas soooonng…" We sing together. I strum the D chord over and over again for effect.

"And it goes like this!" I speak that line. Mem smiles at me and we sing the next line together, speeding the song up a little.

"If Santa came to my house tonight, I'd want a brand new toy, a hot new bike! Or a trip to Disney with a free plane ride! Well, there's lots of things that we could get tonight!" We sing. "When Santa comes down the chimney, he better bring me that Black Ops game and an Xbox, too, plus a candy cane!" I sing by myself. Mem gets the next line.

"Well, I better get my list up to the North Pole before Santa leaves his happy home, so somebody, please write this down! Oh, quick, before Santa comes to town!" Mem says, her eyes shut as she belts out the high note. I smile. Told you she's a good singer.

"A book for Maka, and a Headband for Soul!" I sing. Soul and Maka laugh. "Don't forget about Black Star, who'll get a lump of coal!" Mem looks straight at Black Star, who crosses his arms. Everyone laughs. "For Kid, eight books about symmetry!" I chirp. Kid smiles. "Now, I wonder what else will be under our tree…?" Mem says, putting her hand on her chin.

"Some nail polish for our dear friend Liz! And for Patty a stocking full of Mr. Pigs! Tsubaki, you'll get a nice surprise, when you open your gift to see some cute hair ties!" They all smile and Patty laughs really hard, pointing at us. I snicker and continue. "Ollie, you'll probably get a new dog toy, I'd like to see the look on his face of pure joy!" We sing together. "Jimmi, I'm not really sure what you'll get, but Melody and James will receive the best one yet! Each other, cause I know that's all they'll need for a happy, jolly ol' Christmas Eve!" Mem and I belt out the final note with jazz hands as everyone claps.

"Thank you, thankyaverymuch!" I say in my best Elvis voice. I check the time. "Well, sadly our party's over." I say, frowning. A chorus of "aww"s come from our fans sitting on the floor. "Come on, Gingey! It can't be a concert with only one song!" Jimmi says with bambi eyes. I sigh. "Fine…" I say. I try to think of a good song. Mem leans over and whispers in my ear. My eyes shoot open. "Perfect!" I say, looking at her.

I play the chords, which are E minor, G, D, A, then a short D, A and repeat. I inhale.

"_You know I'm not one_

_To break promises_

_I don't wanna hurt you but I need to breath_

_At the end of it all_

_You're still my best friend_

_Yet there's something inside that I need to release_

_Which way is right?_

_Which way is wrong?_

_How do I say that I need to move on?_

_You know we're heading separate ways"_

Mem smiles. We sing the chorus together, Mem singing the harmony and me the melody.

"_And it feels like I am just to close to love you_

_There's nothing I can really say_

_I can't lie no more_

_I can't hide no more,_

_Got to be true to myself_

_But it feels like I am just to close to love you_

_So I'll be on my way_

_You've given me more_

_Than I can return_

_Yet there's oh so much that you deserve_

_Nothing to say_

_Nothing to do_

_I have nothing to give, I must live without you_

_You know we're heading separate ways_

_And it feels like I am just to close to love you_

_There's nothing I can really say_

_I can't lie no more_

_I can't hide no more,_

_Got to be true to myself_

_And it feels like I am just too close to love you_

_So I'll be on my way_

_Oh, I'll be on my way_

_And it feels like I am just to close to love you_

_There's nothing I can really say_

_I can't lie no more_

_I can't hide no more,_

_Got to be true to myself_

_But it fees like I am just too close to love you,_

_So I'll be on my way_

_So I'll be on my way_

_So I'll be on my way" _We finish. Everyone claps. "Still not a concert…" Jimmi says in a sing-songy voice. I roll my eyes. I decide that one more song can be sung. I was actually considering this one before the party. For once, it's not Paramore. Even though we just sang some Alex Clare, I'm surprised I haven't sung any Paramore yet.

"Alright, one more. Just because it's Christmas." I say. Everyone cheers. Mem sits down to let me sing by myself this time.

"_This town is colder now_

_I think it's sick of us_

_It's time to make our move_

_I'm shaking off the rust_

_I've got my heart set_

_On anywhere but here_

_I'm staring down myself_

_Counting up the years_

_Steady hands, just take the wheel_

_Every glance is killing me_

_Time to make one last appeal_

_For the life I lead_

_Stop and Stare!_

_I think I'm moving, but I go nowhere!_

_Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared_

_But I've become what I can be, oh_

_Stop and Stare!_

_You start to wonder why you're here, not there!_

_And you'd give anything to get what's fair_

_But fair ain't what you really need_

_Oh, can you see what I see?_

_They're trying to come back_

_All my senses push_

_And tie the weight back_

_I never thought I could_

_Steady feet, don't fail me now_

_I'ma run till you can't walk_

_Something pulls my focus out_

_And I'm standing down_

_Stop and stare_

_I think I'm moving but I go nowhere_

_Yeah I know that everyone gets scared _

_But I've become what I can't be_

_Stop and stare _

_You start to wonder why your here not her _

_And you'd give anything to get what fair _

_But fair ain't what you really need_

_Stop and stare_

_I think I'm moving but I go nowhere_

_Yeah I know that everyone gets scared _

_But I've become what I can't be_

_Oh, can you see what I see?" _I finish. I stay silent for a while, then my head shoots up and I point to the door. "Alrighty, folks! Time to go home and get the hell out of my apartment!" I say. I put my guitar down and open the door. As everyone files out, I catch Soul by his jacket and smile. I pull him in for a kiss and then let him go, playfully shoving him out the door.

"Merry Christmas, Soul Eater." I say, shutting the door behind him.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Hahaha, hows it goin' bros? My name's NOT Pewdiepie! Sorry, I've been on a pewdie marathon like, all day. New chapter! Yay! **_  
_

**Ginger: Yes! Finally!**

**Soul: What're you so happy about?**

**Ginger: I get to fight Crystal in this chapter! That biatch is going DOWN!**

**Mem: Meh, I really don't feel like fighting...**

**Ginger: Come on, Mem! Won't it feel awesome when we kick her ass?**

**Mem: Yeah, I guess...**

**Ginger: Haha, We're SO gunna beat her!**

**Maka: Don't jinx yourself, Ginger.**

_Nothing._

_Absolutely nothing._

_What I feel. What I hear. What I see. Nothing but this room. The walls stretch out forever, never quite coming to an end. _

_Nothing._

_Nothing but a dresser. The old fashioned kind, with detailed engravings. And a brush. A silver brush, also with a carved out handle. No, not a brush. A mirror. My hand slowly wraps around the bumpy handle, gripping it tight. The cool metal pokes into my skin. I lift it up to eye level, where I see my familiar face. Bright purple eyes. Flaming red hair. Thin lips and a slightly pointed nose. My clothes, all back, drape around my body without fastening it self with stitches or pins. _

_I see a tear stream down my cheek. I slam the mirror down on the smooth wooden dresser and walk toward the door. The tear drips off my cheek and falls onto my hand, wrapped around the golden doorknob. It stings my skin, burning its way down through it. I wipe it off on my clothes._

_Demon. Evil. Freak. So many names I've been called. So many ways to identify me. So many ways to crush me on the inside. I turn the doorknob and push it open. _

_The light overwhelms me. I immediately see multiple images of me once the light dims, and I smile when I see them. Wings, black as night, sprout out from my back. My teeth, razor sharp when I smile. My clothes are wrapped around me in a way that exposes the scar on my middle. It's a gray patch, covering the right side of my stomach, stopping just before my belly button. And my eyes. The mirror tricked me. Instead of being bright purple, they're a deep, dark brown._

_My father's eyes._

_Demon. The word comes to me once more. I can't deny it any longer. I am. I am one. A creature of the night. So evil and dark. Because, after all…_

_The child of a demon is a demon itself._

"KYAA!" I shout, shooting up to a sitting position. My stomach stings with pain. I jump up to a standing position and throw on some clothes, but nothing black. As I strip off ym pajamas, I take a loo at my bandage. I slowly and carefully take it off. What I see almost makes me jump out of my skin. Just like in the dream, A big gray patch covers the area I was drilled into, sown into my skin at the edges. I can't believe it. It looks like something Stein would do. If he experimented on me... Holy shit, he probably did!

I take a deep breath. It was probably just Mira.

That dream. What was it? And what was that room? A demon? No, I'm not a demon. And what was all that crap about being the child of a demon? Well, in a way I guess my father...

I shake the thought off and walk out of my room. It was just a bad dream. So why did it feel so real? I pour myself some cereal and eat it quickly. I'm putting the milk back in the fridge when I notice a note on the door. I tear it off.

_Ginger,_

_I left for school. You were sleeping pretty deeply, and I couldn't wake you up. Make yourself some breakfast and head out. Don't be too late, or else Stein will get you._

_Mem_

I sigh. Nice of her to leave a note. I grab my bag and walk out the door. I slip on the new headphones Mem got me for Christmas and crank up the volume. I can't hear anything but my music. I make my way up to the academy and walk in the two front doors. I check the time on my iPod. I'm not too late, only about 45 minutes.

I walk to Stein's class and push through the door. Everyone turns toward me. Stein, who has a knife positioned over some poor endangered species' stomach, smiles creepily and turns around in his rollie chair.

"Nice of you to show up." He says. I stare at him blankly, standing there with my hands in my pockets and my headphones still on. I turned the volume down enough where I know what he's saying, though.

"Can you hear me with those headphones of yours?" He asks. I nod, sustaining my blank expression. He laughs. "Well go to your seat. You almost missed the best part." He says, a glint in his glasses causing me to not see his eyes. I shiver slightly and make my way up to Mem and the others. I plop down next to her, drop my bag, and lean my head on my desk.

"Finally awake?" She asks. I nod. "Still tired?" She continues. I nod again and let my head fall so my forehead is against the cool wood of the table in front of me. She laughs. "Try not to fall asleep again! You might not wake up!" She says. I get a flash of my dream. It's me, staring at my reflection with the brown eyes and wings.

I shake my head and look around to see Soul, sitting on my other side and staring at me. I shriek slightly and almost punch him in the face. "Geez, don't do that Soul. Watching people when they sleep isn't cool…" I say, rubbing my forehead. It feels warm and my throat is scratchy. My voice is deeper than usual. I might be catching something.

"You weren't sleeping though." He replies, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head. I frown. "It's still creepy." I say. He laughs. I sit up and rub my eyes. The second I open them; I get an eyeful of blonde and blue. I scowl.

"Crystal…" I mutter to myself. I still haven't gotten her back for what she tried to do. I guess this just means we have to have a little talk after class. Soul looks from her to me and back again. This goes on for a while, until I look at him, annoyed.

"Problem?" I ask. He shakes his head.

* * *

The next morning, I walk up the stairs to the academy and smile. Mem walks a few steps behind me. When I get high enough to see over the steps into the courtyard, I see my opponent. She stands with her weapon. Her piercing blue eyes meet mine.

"Crystal." I say when I get closer. "Nutmeg." She replies. I frown. So stupid she can't even remember my name. I shake my head.

"You ready to get your ass kicked?" I ask her. She laughs. "No. But I'm ready to kick yours." She says, holding out her hand to Alex. He sighs. "Are you guys sure about this?" He asks. His eyes fall on Mem. She blushes and transforms. I grab her out of the air and pull back my first arrow quickly.

Crystal smiles. "Alex, be a dear and transform so we can get this over with?" She says politely. He sighs again and in a flash of blue light, becomes what looks like a duel bladed celurit, one blade on each end, but I'm not sure exactly what it's called. She twirls him around for effect, his two hooked blades becoming a blur of silver.

My grip on Mem loosens a bit. I really hope this was a good idea. She looks like she knows what she's doing. I crouch into a fighting stance. "Let's go," I say so that only Mem can hear. I run at Crystal, swinging the bow at her. She uses Alex to deflect it, but I take the arrow I'm holding and stab it into her stomach. She tries to dodge, but it grazes her and her shirt rips, exposing her bleeding side. The red stains her light blue shirt.

She frowns and swings Alex at me. I duck, but when I stand back up, she hooks Alex around me and pulls me closer. Her fist flies into my face. I spit out some blood and smile. I duck out of the hooked blade and place my hand on my foot. I slide it under hers, tripping her so that she face plants.

I bring my foot down on her stomach when she rolls over. She grunts and stands up. I back away from her so I can get a good shot. I aim for her thigh. I release the arrow from the shaft and it flies into her calf as she tries to jump out of the way. I run up, pull the arrow out of her leg and use the side of it to push against her neck, knocking her back down on the ground.

"Agh!" She cries out, her eyes shut and blood running down her chin. I wipe some blood of my own off of my face and spit.

"Ready to give up yet, Ruby?" I ask her. She scowls and jumps to her feet. She runs at me and swings Alex at me once again. I try to dodge, but she's too fast and hits me with the back of the blade, slamming me against one of the pillars. Blood splurts out of my mouth, staining my windbreaker. I cough a few times.

"Ginger, she's coming back around!" Mem shouts. I open my eyes and see Crystal, speeding towards me with Alex positioned to backhand me. When she swings, I flip myself around so that Alex stabs into the pillar, my back on the ground and my legs positioned so that Alex is in between them.

"HEY! GET ME OUTTA THERE, CRYSTAL! WHY'D YA HAVE TO PUT ME BETWEEN HER LEGS, HUH? COME ON!" Alex says from his weapon form, freaking out. I look up and see that he is pretty close to "that" area, my skirt falling below my waist so that my lucky purple spotted underpants are showing. I blush and scrunch my legs up and push off the wall, sliding in between Crystal's legs. I push myself off the ground to a standing position.

I pull back six arrows. When I release, two fly into her sleeves, pinning her arms to the wall, while the remaining four pin her legs. Alex falls to the ground and I pull back one final arrow. I hold it so the tip is touching her forehead, poking her skin. Beads of sweat start to form on her face and she watches the arrow intently.

"I win." I say, smiling. She frowns. I adjust my aim and let the arrow go. Her eyes shut, fear written on her face. It flies into the pillar behind her. She opens one eye, then the other, and then she sighs with relief. She opens her eyes and smiles at me.

"What, you too scared to shoot me or something, Gingerbread?" She asks. I just look at her. "No, if I killed you I wouldn't get away with it with out a serious punishment. Plus, I can't kill a little girl." I say with a smirk.

"Ginger…?" a voice behind me asks. I whip around to see Soul and Maka standing at the top of the stairs. I smile and wave. Soul's jaw drops.

"Oh, hey everybody! What's up?" I say cheerily. Mem transforms back and her arrows come with her, causing Crystal drops to the ground. Alex transforms as well and nudges her limp body with his foot.

"Well, I think it's almost time for school, so toodles!" I say, walking inside the building. Mem follows, blushing and waving goodbye to Alex.

**AN: Well, that was fun! How do you guys feel about a rematch a few chapters later? I'm not sure about it, but I want to know what you think! Tell me in the comments!**

**Ginger: Ha! Told you I would beat her!**

**Mem: Correction: WE would beat her.**

**Ginger: Yeah, whatever.**

**Soul: When Maka and I first got there, it looked like you were losing.**

**Ginger: So... how long were you guys watching exactly...?**

**Soul: Pretty much the whole time.**

**Maka: We got there when she punched you.**

**Ginger, thinking to herself: _Damn, that means Soul saw my undies...!_**

**Soul: *Grins* **

**Ginger: EWW, YOU PERVERT! *slaps Soul***

**Soul: AGH! What, you expect me to not think about it?!**

**Ginger: YES!**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: 'Sup, guys? I'm sorry to say that there's only going to be one chapter after this :( I'm so sad it has to come to an end and I can't wait for the final chapter. I've already started writing it and I'm going to say it'll be out by the end of the week hopefully. It's been so fun writing this and I love all your guys' support!**

**Ginger: Aww, only one more chapter?**

**Mem: Yeah, but I think it's going to be a really long one!**

**Soul: It still sucks. **

**Kid: *sniff* I'm... *sniffle* going to miss All of you! No matter how *sniff* asymmetrical you may be!**

**Maka: Gee, thanks Kid. -.-**

**Ginger: I'm asymmetrical...?**

The next morning, everyone's buzzing with excitement for the dance, which is only two days away. On my way out the door with Mem, Soul, and Maka, someone grabs my shoulder.

"Hey, Ginger? Can I talk to you?" Alex asks after I turn around. I nod and listen. He coughs nervously. "I mean, like in private?" He asks. I smile. He probably wants me to ask Mem to the dance for him or something. "Yeah! Of course!" I say, following him into the nearest classroom. On my way in, I turn around.

"I'll meet up with you guys later, 'kay?" I ask. They nod. I wink at Mem and she blushes. She turns around and walks the rest of the way down the hall. I follow Alex into the room.

"What's up?" I ask him once I get in there. He turns toward me and sticks his hands in his pockets. "I wanted to ask you about the dance…" He says. Yep. Just like I thought. He wants to ask Mem.

"Okay, shoot." I say, beaming with happiness. So the emo wall has finally found love! I wonder why he can't just ask her himself, he doesn't seem like the shy type. Oh, well.

Alex blushes, his light blue eyes shining. Wait, aren't his eyes usually brown? I wonder why they're suddenly blue. They look like Crystals. I shake the thought off and turn my attention back towards him.

"Will you go with me?" He asks. I'm about to say, "Of course I'll ask her," when his question hits me.

"WHAT?" I say, surprised. He nods. "B-but, you and Mem…" I say, my hand on my chest. "And you know I'm already going with Soul, right?" I say, desperate for anything that will make him change his mind.

"Forget Mem." He says, walking closer to me. "I've had eyes for you this whole time, Ginger. Mem was just an excuse for me to get closer to you." He says. I try to take a step away from him, but I back right into the chalkboard. "Umm, that's great, but like I said before I'm already involved with Soul!" I say. I turn my head toward the door, but he puts his hand against the board, blocking my view. I turn back toward him.

"So? Leave him. Come to me. I'll be waiting with open arms." He says, putting his face closer to mine. I squirm to try and get out of his grasp, but he won't budge. My cheeks flush.

"Alex! What are you doing? Get off me! This isn't like you! Alex!" I say, tears starting to form in my eyes. I try to push him off, but he just leans his forehead on mine and closes his eyes. The door swings open.

"Hey, Ging-" Someone says. I turn to see Soul, standing there with his eyes wide. The tears come out even faster now. "Soul! Thank God you're here, Alex was-" I start, but then I realize what we must look like.

"No, we weren't… Soul! This isn't what it looks like, I swear! Please, Soul!" I say. Alex releases me from his grip and I run over to Soul. I reach out my arm to him, but he takes a step back.

"Not cool." He says, crushing my heart in only two words. He turns and walks out the door. I try to follow, but it would be useless. I whip around to face Alex.

"Wha… what just happened…?" He asks, scratching the back of his head and looking around. My fists clench.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK JUST HAPPENED, YOU JERK?!" I say, my fist flying into his face. "OOW! OWOWOWOWOWOWWW!" He cries, his hand covering my fist mark. He drops to the ground. My face goes red with anger.

"I don't know! That's why I was asking! Damnit, why did you just punch me, bitch? I didn't do anything!" He says, staring at me. His eyes are back to their usual deep a threatening step toward him, my hand positioned to punch him again. He scoots back on the floor, his hands up in a protective position.

"Oh, bullshit! You didn't do anything, my ass!" I say. I turn around and storm out the door. I run back to my dorm, my face streaked with tears and my face flushed with frustration. I open the door, but instead of seeing the interior to the apartment, I see pianos strewn across the room.

"How'd I get to the piano shop…?" I wonder out loud. There's someone playing a familiar tune in the back, so I walk over to the noise, expecting it to be Phil. He left the door open, which isn't like him. He almost always shuts the door when he's in there. I swing open the door all the way, but when I see who's really playing, I stop dead in my tracks.

Soul doesn't seem to notice my presence, his playing is too loud. I quickly back out of the room and flip around so my back is on the wall beside the opening. I sink down to the ground, my hand covering my mouth to keep my sobs muffled.

He sounds amazing. I recognize the song as the one we wrote together the last time we were here. It's similar to the one my dad used to love playing, but it's more him. It's twisted and confusing and beautiful. And it's no longer mine.

When the song finishes, I stand up and wait for him to come out. I wonder where Phil is…

I don't have time to think about it, though, because Soul walks out of the room, hands in his pockets. When he sees me, he stops. He looks right at me. Neither of us says anything; just stand there, staring at each other. Soul exhales heavily through his nose.

"Soul," I say finally. He seems to perk up a bit as if he wasn't really focusing on what was going on before I spoke. He looks at me expectantly. I sigh and take a step closer to him.

"You have to understand, I wasn't doing anything with Alex. He forced himself on me, and I couldn't get him off. Please Soul, cheating isn't cool, and I wouldn't do it." I say. He doesn't respond. His red eyes pierce into my heart like spears. I can tell he doesn't know whether to believe me or not.

"I do. I understand perfectly, Ginger." He says after what seems like forever. He pushes past me angrily and walks out of the shop, slamming the door behind him.

I sink to the ground, my head in my hands. I cry for a really long time. Phil walks out from his room.

"Hey, kiddo." He says. I turn around and look at him. He sees my face and puts his stuff down. "Oh, no." he says. He kneels next to me and wraps his arms around me. I lean my head on his shoulder, crying even harder. Phil will always be there for me, no matter what. Even if he doesn't know what's wrong. Him and my mother were really good friends because of this.

When my dad became a kishin, burned down our home and almost killed my mom, Phil was there for us even though he didn't know us. He was walking by, coming home from his friend's party, when he saw my mother's torn up face and Jimmi, Mem and me sitting next to her, looking miserable. He was the one to drive my mother to the hospital and take us into custody while she was there. We had been living with him in the shop since then, until Mem and I enrolled in the academy and moved into the dorm. Jimmi lived with us, but when Mem and I moved out he went to live with his friend.

He stands me up and looks me straight in the eye. "Ginger. I don't know what happened, but I have a feeling it has to do with Soul, considering he was playing a minute ago and now he's gone. Am I right?" He asks. I nod. He smiles. "You're going to be fine. You're way too cool to fall to pieces over some boy, no matter how he made you feel. You hear me? He didn't deserve someone a amazing as you." Phil assures me, smiling that kind smile of his.

I smile back at him. "Thanks, Phil." I say, even though I was the one Soul didn't deserve. No, that wasn't my fault. Alex just forced me. That jackass, when I get my hands on him he won't like me so much anymore.

Phil walks me back to the dorm. By the time we get there, I've stopped crying and my face is normal again. Whenever I cry, my face gets all puffy and you could tell from a mile away that I was, even when I've stopped. But the shop is about a seven-minute walk away, so I look better now.

Jimmi opens the door. "Hey, Phil! My man!" He says, man-hugging Phil. Phil laughs. "How's it going, dude?" He asks Jimmi. Jimmi fist bumps him and nods. "Pretty good, how about you?" He replies. I sigh and push past my older brother, flopping on my bed when I get to my room. After a while, someone knocks on the door.

"Knock-knock," Jimmi says, peeking his head in. I don't say anything. I'm lying on my side, facing the wall. Jimmi sits down on my bed. For the past thirty minutes, I've been trying to figure out why Alex would do something like that. I've seen him and Mem, and as far as I know, no one can act that well.

"Something wrong, Bright Eyes?" He asks me, rubbing my back. My eyes shoot open. I sit up quickly. "That's it! I think…" I say, shaking Jimmi's shoulders. He laughs. "I guess not," He says. I shake my head. "His eyes! Those were Crystal's eyes, no doubt about it!" I say, writing myself a note and sticking it on my door so I don't forget what I need to do tomorrow at school.

I pretty much run to the black and red academy building. When I get there, I make a beeline for the library. I grab as many books about witches I can hold and bring them over to a table. I open the first book and skim through it. Nothing.

After a ton of skimming, I take a deep breath and read the title of the third to last book in my stack. _The Meister's Guide to Witches, _it reads. I open the book and read the table of contents. The eighth chapter is titled, _Mind Control. _Perfect. I flip to the right page and start reading the first paragraph.

_If you ever come across a witch, which you will no doubt have to if you want to make a death scythe, you will have to watch out. A portion of powerful witches have learned the art of controlling one's actions and thoughts. This is called mind control. A dead giveaway that one is being controlled is their eye color. The pigment of their eyes will change to that of the witch you are up against, and they will not be able to control their own actions or remember anything that went on while they were being controlled._

I snap the book shut. That's exactly what I've been looking for. I put the books back on the shelves and walk to my first class, which I have with Professor Stein. And Crystal. I can confront her with the news after class.

Too bad she's not here. Ugh, why is she only here when she bugs me, but never when I actually _want _to see her?

Never mind that. I turn to Soul, who's sitting on the other end of the classroom today along with Maka. I sigh. I have to expose Crystal as a witch, but I don't even have proof she was the one controlling Alex in the first place. I know she is, though. Damn witch, I should have known from the start. This must be what got me so ticked off at her in the first place; I have special hatred for witches.

It was a witch that made my father become a kishin.

**AN: Tada! Only one chappy left! You guys ready for the big finale? Huh? HUH? Well, I have to go, so that's it for now! Love you all, byee!**


	21. LAST CHAPTER

**AN: Last chapter! It's finally come to an end!**

**The Real Ginger: I don't know whether to be sad or excited...**

**Memory Rise: Even though I didn't write much, I still had fun writing!**

**Ginger: So did I!**** Even though I****************wr************************o**te****** m****o****st************************************o****f i****t****!**

**Memory: Well, without further ado...**

**Ginger: We give you...**

**Both: The final chapter of The (New?) Coolest Kid in School!****!**

I walk up to the doors to the part of the academy where the dance is being held. My dress is long and flowy and hugs my waist, flowing out at about mid-thigh. It's purple, the same shade as my eyes. It includes these pieces that go around my arms, starting at my elbow and flowing out like the dress. They go down past my hands. My hair is long and soft, the left side of my bangs clipped back to my head.

Mem stands next to me, frantically looking around for Alex. I didn't have the heart to tell her what had happened with him and me, so she still thinks he likes her. Her dress, all black as usual, is the kind that comes up and wraps around her neck, covering her chest. The skirt of the dress goes down to her knees, then stops.

We walk into the big room, which is filled with dancing academy students. They all wear dresses and suits even fancier than ours. Alex and Crystal stand by the punch bowl. When Mem finds him, she practically runs over to him. He's wearing a nice suit with a blue tie that matches the color of Crystal's dress.

Crystal, on the other hand, is wearing a mermaid-style strapless dress. Her eyelashes are beaded, making her eyes look wider and prettier than usual. Her hair is pulled back into a loose fishtail braid. She looks beautiful.

When Mem reaches Alex, he smiles and plants a kiss on her cheek. _They are pretty cute, _I think to myself. I see them chat for a while, but then Mem drags Alex out to the dance floor. Alex laughs and twirls her around. I look around the room.

My eyes fall on Soul and Maka. My shoulders slump a little. They're dancing together, Soul looking reluctant and annoyed, like Maka forced him to. Soul is wearing a normal suit with a black tie. Maka has a red strapless dress with a white sweater over it and her hair is curled in the front. She is saying something to him. She gestures in my direction, and Soul turns to look at me. I blush and look away. Damn Crystal, I could be dancing with him right now. Instead, I stand on the edge of the dance floor, all by myself.

I sit down in a chair at a table that looks like it was hand-decorated by Kid. It probably was, considering he is Shinigami's son. I take a sip of the punch I got before I sat down. I sigh. This is going to be the worst dance ever. My boyfriend hates me, my best friend is in love with the guy who caused him to, and I still don't have full proof that Crystal's a witch. I know she is, though.

I feel a hand on my back. I turn around, and to my surprise, see Soul, standing there, his cheeks flushed with annoyance. I make a small noise, kind of like an, "Eep!" but then I cover my mouth in embarrassment. Soul sighs.

"Will you… dance with me…?" He asks as the next song starts. I blush. "Umm… sure, Soul…!" I say quietly. I stand up slowly. He and I walk out to the dance floor. The song playing is a slow, romantic one. In any other situation, I would be totally in love with him and the idea of dancing with him, but right now all I can think about is why.

"Don't get your hopes up. Maka's making me do this." Soul says, answering my question. I look up at him. "Oh. You can, uh, lead." I tell him. He nods and takes one of my hands in his, placing his other on my hip. The hand holding mine is inside my sleeve, so I quickly scrunch it up to my wrist and rest my other hand on his shoulder. We dance for a while. I feel like I should explain everything to him, but I can't. I look down at our feet, my eyes drooping half closed.

"If you're going to say something, spit it out." He says. My eyes shoot open. That's the same thing I said to him when he asked me to the dance. I look up at him again. He looks back expectantly. I nod and sigh.

"I'm so sorry, Soul. I didn't cheat, I swear. It was Alex. Well, not Alex, but Crystal. I know she wasn't even there, but I think she may be a… umm," I say, realizing how stupid I must sound. Sure my theory makes sense to me, but how the hell am I supposed to explain it to someone who doesn't even want to listen? Soul rolls his eyes.

"I said spit it out." He says, egging me on. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I think Crystal might be a witch!" I say quickly. Soul stops dead in his tracks and I accidentally step on his toe with my purple wedge heel. He cringes. "Omiglob, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were going to stop, are you-" He interrupts me, gripping my hand a little tighter.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. But what did you just say?!" He asks me, ignoring his foot. Does he actually believe me?

"I said I think Crystal is a witch." I say, more confident now. His eyes widen. "No way... seriously?" He asks. I nod. "A… witch? But, she has a weapon!" He says. I nod. "Yeah, I know." I say, sneaking a peek at Crystal, who's standing with her arms crossed on the other side of the room. "I don't know why she's here, but I know it can't be good." I tell him. He nods.

"Probably." He says. We stay silent for a while. I continue to dance with him. About halfway through the song, I decide I need to explain everything else.

"Soul?" I say. He looks at me. I stare into his gorgeous red eyes. His lips are open just slightly, letting me see part of his pointed teeth. I continue to look at him. "About… Alex. Like I said, he forced himself on me. I think he was being controlled by Crystal." I start.

"It was his eyes, they weren't his. They were Crystal's, no doubt. I read in this book that a giveaway that someone is being controlled by a witch is that their eyes change color to match the witch's, and they won't remember anything. Do you believe me? Please say you do!" I ask him. He looks at me, thinks, and nods finally. I let out a breath of relief.

"Oh, thank God!" I say, leaning my head on his chest. The song ends and the next one comes on. It's also a slow one, but I drag Soul off the dance floor. "Come on, we have to tell Lord Death! Or Stein! Or someone!" I tell him. He shakes his head.

"No. I believe you, and I swear to God Ginger, if you're lying I'm seriously going to kill you, but there's no way anyone else will. First we need to tell Alex. If my partner was secretly a witch, I would want to know about it." He says. I look at him and nod. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I say, turning around and walking toward Alex and Mem.

"Alex!" I say once I get to him and Mem. They look up at us. "We need to talk!" Soul says.

"WHAT?!" Alex says after Soul and I finish explaining. I nod. "I know it must be hard to believe, but I'm pretty sure she is." I tell him. Mem looks at me. Alex shakes his head. "My partner is a… _witch?" _He says. Soul nods and looks over at her. "Yes, isn't that what she just said?" He replies impatiently.

"Actually, I don't find that hard to believe… She's really secretive. And people are always accusing me of doing stuff I didn't do. Or can't remember I did, anyway." He says.

"So what are _we _going to do?" Mem asks. I take a deep breath. "We have to confront her." I say. Soul nods. "And no one can know about this, excepting us. Well, actually, should I tell Maka just in case we need to fight?" He asks, turning t me. I nod.

"Yeah, but make it quick. We don't have much time." I tell him. He nods and speed-walks over to Maka. I turn back to Alex and Mem. "Come on. Let's go figure out how the hell we're going to do this." I say as Maka and Soul walk back over to us.

After we have our plan, Mem and I walk up to Crystal. She looks at us, obviously disgusted. "Need something?" She asks us. I nod. "Yes, actually we do." I say, putting my hands on my hips. Crystal rolls her eyes.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about, hmm, I don't know, witches?" I ask. She just laughs. "Ha! That's your question? If you want to know about witches, go look it up in a book!" She says. I smile.

"Really? Cause you would seem to be the expert, seeing as you're, well, a witch." Mem says. Crystal stops laughing and looks at us. "A witch? Me? You're joking, right?" She says. Mem and I say nothing. "Wow, you're even more dumb than I thought." She says. I shake my head.

"If we're so dumb, than how come we found you out? And you might as well tell the truth, we're not leaving until you do." I tell her. She smiles.

"Fine. You caught me. So what are you going to do now, Gingey? Huh?" She asks. I grin evilly. "Kick your ass." I say. "Mem! Now!" I tell her. She nods and in a flash of blue light becomes the bow I know so well. I pull back an arrow and aim it at her forehead. "Again, that is." I tell her. She laughs. Some people turn toward us, wondering what's going on.

"Bring it." She responds. She looks over to Alex, who's standing with Mem, Soul and Maka not too far away. "Alex! Come here!" She calls. He shakes his head. "No, Crystal. You're a witch, aren't you?" He tells her. She frowns. "Well, then I guess I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way!" She says, looking back to me.

"Release Soul Protect!" She says, holding out her arms. When she does, her soul emits huge waves and any meister with soul perception could easily tell she's a witch. Meisters all around the room notice, and they turn towards her.

"Come on, crystal! Show me what you can do!" I yell at her. She smiles, looking vaguely like some sort of fish. I crouch, pulling the arrow back even father and pointing it at the ground.

"Soul! Let's go!" I hear Maka yell to Soul. In a split second she appears next to me, holding Soul in her hands. It's going to be hard to fight with a dress on, but luckily Crystal has the same disadvantage. I lift the bow and arrow up and point it at her. I release and she grabs it out of the air, throwing it to the ground.

"You're going to have to try harder than that, human!" She says, laughing. Maka runs up and swings at her with Soul. Crystal dodges effortlessly. She laughs as blow after blow from us misses.

"Alright. Now it's my turn!" Crystal shouts. She holds her hands out in front of her, palms toward Maka and me. "Koi, Koi, Betta, Betta…" She mutters. Her eyes shoot open. "Tidal wave!" She shouts. Water shoots out of her hands. Maka and I try to jump out of the way, but I get hit with the blast.

"What the hell is going on?" Someone asks. I sit up slowly and look at whoever it is, and I see Kid, Liz, Patty, James and Melody.

"What do you think, Einstein? Can you just help us?" I say, standing up and pulling back another arrow. Kid looks at me, then Crystal, then Maka (who's currently running at Crystal with Soul), and then nods. "Liz! Patty!" He says. "Right!" They say, transforming into twin pistols. James looks at Melody and she transforms as well, becoming what looks like two hook swords.

I shoot another arrow at Crystal's back while Maka has her distracted. Crystal moves up at the last second and it flies into her bare heel. Her shoes fell off after she released soul protect.

Crystal screeches, then pulls the arrow out of her foot and throws it at me. I duck and pull it out of the ground behind me. Kid shoots at Crystal, but she dodges and starts chanting, "Koi, Koi, Betta, Betta…" kind of quiet, but we can still hear her. "Fish Tail!" She finishes. Water in the shape of a fish's tail blocks Kid's next set if blasts like a shield.

"Hey! Don't forget about me, dumb witch!" Black Star shouts, bringing a black sword that must be Tsubaki down on her head. Crystal puts out a hand, stopping the blade with her palm. She wraps her fingers around it, twists it, and slams it, along with Black Star, on the ground.

He jumps up and goes at her again. She shoots a tunnel of water at him and he falls back to the ground. Maka runs and swings at Crystal from the right as James does the same on her left. Crystal blocks Maka's blow but James manages to hit her shoulder cutting into her flesh.

"AAARRGGH!" She exclaims, her hand flying to her wound. While she doesn't notice, I run up to her and stab and arrow into her stomach. She grunts and pulls it out. She throws it over her shoulder. I run to get it and slip it into my pouch.

"Healing Stream…" Crystal says with a cough. Blood spurts out of her mouth. A band of water wraps around her stomach and shoulder, healing the wounds. A couple of other students join the fight, swinging and shooting and doing whatever it takes to defeat Crystal. Though she's outnumbered, Crystal is a really powerful witch and can hold back all of us, only sustaining a few scratches here and there. But she can't fight forever.

I run up to Crystal and hold my fist out to punch her. She turns around, grabs my fist, and twirls me around. She holds me suspended up in the air along with her, my hands behind my back. She wraps her arm around my neck.

"Ice Blade!" She says. A shard of ice shoots out of her fingertip and she holds it against my cheek, dragging it downward so it starts to bleed. "Ngh…" I mutter, trying to squirm free. "Scared yet, child?" She hisses into my ear. I clench my teeth. "Damn…" I say softly. She takes the ice shard and stabs it into my arm. I scream.

"I said are you SCARED?" She asks again. She grips my neck tighter so I can't breath. My hands try to pry hers off my throat, dropping Mem to the ground. I squeeze my eyes shut.

"LET HER GOOOO!" Someone screams. I open my eyes to see James, hooking the end of his right sword around Crystal's neck and the other into the end of my dress. I crane my neck and chomp down on Crystal's hand. She shrieks and lets go and James separates us. Crystal unhooks herself from the blade and tries to come after him, but Kid starts to shoot her from the other side. James lands on a nearby ledge, hooking his right sword on a curtain so he doesn't fall.

James still has his left sword hooked into my dress, leaving me hanging upside down. "Thanks, but can you put me down now?" I say, holding my dress up so I don't flash anyone. He nods and flicks his sword. "Yeah, sorry about that." He says.

I fall to the ground, landing on my feet and right hand. I stand up and look around for Mem. I spot her and run over, scooping her and the arrow bag up from the ground and shooting some arrows at Crystal, once barely missing Kim and Jacqueline. I duck behind a table as Crystal shoots another beam of water my way.

"Come on, why won't she die already?" I say to myself. Mem answers anyway. "Should we resonate?" She asks. I nod. "Yes. It's the only thing we have left." I tell her. I look at her reflection in the shaft, and she smiles at me. I smile back and stand up straight. "LET'S GO, SOUL RESONANCE!" We cry together.

"Cupid's Flame." I say quietly, grinning as Mem turns white and curls at the ends of the bow and my arrows catch on fire. The tips of my arrows are now in the shape of hearts, and the fire burns brighter and hotter than I've ever seen them. I take nine arrows and pull them back. I shoot them all at Crystal, who has her back turned. They shoot into her back and I run up to her, taking another fiery arrow out of the pouch.

"KYAAAAHHH!" I scream, thrusting the arrow into her heart. She inhales sharply and drops to her knees. Maka walks up next to me, holding Soul over her shoulder. Crystal coughs and wheezes. "Mark my words… this… this is only the beginning…" She says.

Maka swings Soul down on her head, and her body fades to black. She unravels and a pink soul that appears to be wearing a witch hat floats in front of us. Stein walks up and takes the soul in his hand. "Well, since none of you have your 99 kishin souls yet and we can't split a single soul evenly, this will be going to Lord Death." He says.

"You were here the whole time? Why the hell didn't you help?!" I say as he starts to walk away. He simply turns around and shrugs. He walks out of the room, probably heading toward the Death Room. I glare at him until he turns the corner and I can't see him anymore.

"Well, this has been fun." Maka says as Soul transforms back. Mem and all the other weapons in the room do the same. Kid says something to the instrumentalists and hushes the room. "Well, thank you to everyone who helped in this battle. But this struggle does not mean that the dance cannot continue." He says to all of us. Everyone cheers and starts dancing again. It's as if beating Crystal just gave everyone yet another reason to celebrate.

I turn to Soul. "I believe we have something to finish?" I ask him. He smiles with those sharp teeth of his and grabs my hand, pulling me back out onto the dance floor. I laugh and follow him.

"This is officially the best dance ever." I say to him. He nods. "Definitely." He responds. I smile and lean my head on his chest. "I love you, Ginger." He says after a while. I look up and smile. "You know, I think that's the first time you've ever said that to me," I say. He smiles back. "Oh, and I love you too." I add. He laughs.

We dance through the whole song. When it ends, everyone claps. I start to clap with them, but Soul pulls me closer to him and presses his lips to mine. I smile through his embrace and wrap my arms around his neck. It's like one of those movie scenes where the music starts playing and the credits start rolling. But I'm the main character, and Soul is the guy who swoops in and sweeps me off my feet.

"Hey, lovebirds, try not to get to close. We are still in public, you know." A voice that sounds like Mem says. Soul and I separate and see Mem, standing with Alex, Maka, Kid, Liz, Patty, Black Star, Tsubaki, Melody and James. I laugh. "Sorry," I say as Soul takes my hand in his. Maka laughs. "Watch out, Ginger," She says, putting her hand on her hips. "You take my partner and I'll take your soul!" She teases. Mem snickers. "Silly, don't you know?" I ask her with a chuckle. I turn back to Soul and smile. He smiles back.

"Gingers don't have souls!" I say to Maka, closing my eyes and kissing Soul again.

**AN: Haha, as I write this authors note I'm playing my music and Gangnam Style just came on! Lolz! An epic song to match an epic ending! So who wants a sequel? I kind of have an idea, but I want to know whether you guys want one or not! Tell me pleeaase! Well, I hope you guys loved this as much as I did, so with that...**

**OPPAN GANGNAM STYLE!**

**ヽ(゜∇゜)ノ EEEEEEYYYY SEXY LAYDAY**

**ヘ(￣ー￣ヘ) Op**

**(ノ￣ー￣)ノ Op**

**(〜￣▽￣)〜 Op**

**〜(￣△￣〜) Op**

**(┛◉Д◉)┛ OPPAN GANGNAM STYLE!**

******〜**(**￣^****￣)****〜** EEEEEYYYY SEXY LAYDAY

**********(_^3^)l OP OP**

**********l(****゜v****゜_) OP OP**

**( •_•)**

**( •_•)⌐■-■**

**(⌐■_■)**

**✌( ⌐■_■********)✌ ************************OPPAN GANGNAM STYLE!**


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